Falling Like a Snowflake
by eriscirce
Summary: Elsa's search for a King thus-far has brought her up empty-handed - so it seems at first. But now, this icy queen's budding romances are not what they seem, as secrets are revealed, people are betrayed, and love is put to the test as a war that will end it all brims on the horizon. Rated M for upcoming smut.
1. Getting Ready

**First Story time! Please let me know what you think of this (very short) first chapter :) This is my first experience ever writing any fiction, so please try not to be TOO harsh. On with the story!**

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Gentle snowflakes swirled down from the ceiling overhead as Elsa lay, draped across her duvet. Her open window let in warm spring air as the sound of Kristoff and Anna's laughter wafted in from the gardens below. Eight months ago, Anna had been engaged to a man she hardly knew. Now here she was, deeply in love with a man she wasn't engaged to and running around in a garden with a magical talking snowman.

Yes, a lot can happen in eight months.

Tonight was, technically, the first official royal ball after Elsa's train wreck of a coronation. Anna was more than excited, and with Kristoff's and Olaf's help, the ball had been in preparation for almost three months.

Elsa rose from her sheets wearily, and ceased the falling crystals. The ball shouldn't have been important to her, however, as Queen of Arrendale there was absolutely no way she could let this one slip. Sliding her feet over her plush blue rug, she threw open her giant white wardrobe, letting her gaze drift over dozens of gowns. She let her thin fingers dance over their fine silks, before selecting a particularly scandalous one that she rather enjoyed.

Pulling the garment from the closet, she closed the white doors behind her and laid the dress out on the bed. The dress, a dazzlingly sparkly mint-colored number with slits up the leg and a shimmery white train behind it, had a dipping neckline that showed off Elsa's creamy cleavage rather nicely – after all, what's a Queen without a King? Smirking to herself, Elsa slipped on the gown, and fetched her ivory comb from the table, seating herself on her boudoir and eyeing her reflection.

As she brushed her hair, Elsa observed the door opening behind her and watched as Anna bounced in, cheeks rosy from the permanent chill that haunted Elsa's chambers.

"Excited, I see." Elsa quipped as she laid her comb down and fluffed her hair so it fell stylishly across her shoulders and back.

"Well, of course!" Anna smiled giddily, smoothing her pale violet gown and twirling in white slippers. Her hair was pinned in a circlet on her head and swathed in flowers of all assortments. "I've only been planning this thing since the beginning of winter and I can hardly wait! Kingdoms from far and wide will be attending tonight Elsa, and you really need to-" Elsa cut her off sharply with a quick look from her ice-blue eyes.

"Yes, Anna, I know, look for a husband. That's the only thing you've been talking about from the last month and a half. Don't worry about me, I'll see to it that I look for a King to rule our country. You, however, need to make sure Kristoff isn't going to wear _that_ to the ball tonight."

Anna turned to see Kristoff, who had, for once, been quiet and come into the room. Adorned in a floral suit, he looked as if he had rolled in an oil painting of a garden. "Kristoff," Anna tsked with a smirk, "How on earth are you going to impress any girls dressed like a flower patch?" She walked over to him, pulling him down and nuzzling his nose with a giggle. He chuckled throatily, pulling her closer and murmuring, "I think I just impressed one." They giggle together, and Kristoff quickly pecks her on the lips before staring into her eyes momentarily.

Elsa felt a soft pang of jealousy, and turned back to her mirror. Lifting red lipstick, she smoothed some over her naturally rose-petal-pink lips, and puckered. Tonight, she thought, staring into her ice-like eyes, would be the night. It had to be.

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**I know, I know, so short and stereotypical! Regardless, please let me know your thoughts and if I should continue or not. Thank you so much for reading - you guys are the greatest!**


	2. The Ball

**Wow, glad to see it was so well received :) I'll continue with it then. Thanks to everyone who favorited and put it on their watch-list, along with my one review - I appreciate it greatly. Let's continue, shall we?**

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By the time that the large grandfather clock behind her struck ten, Elsa's feet were throbbing. Dance after dance with potential bachelors proved fruitless, regardless of how much money most of them boasted to own. Or how many kingdoms, or boats, or horses, or housemaids or, (on one particular occasion) unicorns they claimed to have. None of them seemed to have a heart that fit Elsa's kingdom. At least, she thought to herself, the ballroom looks gorgeous - Anna had really outdone herself.

Long, pastel-shaded streamers were strung from chandelier to chandelier. Some streamers sparkled gently, providing an almost fairy-like effect. Beneath them lay table after table, which were covered in creamy white table cloth, and topped with a vase bursting with several kinds of flowers. It almost looked as if Anna had cut up the whole garden to fill each one. That being said, Elsa really hoped she actually didn't. Around the walls, strings of flowers were hung and fluttered softly in the cool breeze coming from ajar windows. A large string band was playing upbeat, spring-time songs, that filled the room with a warmth that seemingly could not be extinguished.

May I take the time to remind you, that Elsa is the SNOW Queen?

Yes, Elsa was rather frigid that evening, despite the happy mood, but understandably so - each and every one of the suitors that had approached her thus far was, in short, either a nut job or a power hungry tyrant. Not exactly what Elsa was looking for in a King. This was going to be really difficult.

A tap on the shoulder broke her from her daze. She had been sitting, rather unflatteringly so, atop a throne at the head of the room. The throne had been garnished with white lilies, that framed Elsa's pale face rather nicely. Elsa righted herself quickly, and turned to see who the tap had come from. Another prince looked down at her, and smiled.

"Your Highness, may I have this dance?" He said in a baritone voice, which was as smooth as chocolate. Bright green, almost fluorescent, eyes were framed by honey-toned hair and paired with a cutting jawline and pink, thin lips. All-in-all, almost a catch.

"Why, it would be my pleasure." Elsa smiled, showing off her dazzling pearly whites, and taking his hand. She rose from the throne gracefully and descended the platform, heading out onto the ballroom floor. They began a slow, meaningful waltz, much like the people surrounding them.

"So," he grinned, looking down at her, "you've danced with quite a number of men tonight."

"And?" She met his gaze with the demanding curiosity it seemed only a queen could have, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, quite obviously-" He paused for a moment to spin her gently "You're looking for a suitor."

"Really. Is it that obvious. Wow, I never would have known." Elsa remarked sarcastically, rolling her icy eyes. This one did seem rather straight and too the point, however, with his intentions - not dodging around it with uncomfortable sexual innuendoes. 'Yes, pumps are rather grand, but you must FLOWER them accordingly. My pump, as it seems, is definitely in need of some flowering.' One had cheekily remarked, while another put, rather bluntly 'So, my castle or yours?'. The long line of horny little princes was seemingly never-ending.

"I didn't mean any insult your Majesty, it was merely an observation." He smiled, as they continued to glide. A few meters away from them, Kristoff and Anna danced happily. Olaf slid around by their ankles.

"Of course, my apologies. Just, some of those potential suitors aren't exactly the best of people." She jerked her head towards the man who had asked her if she wanted to "take a ride on his unicorn", where he was standing amongst a group.

"Ooh, Lord Ellington? Yes, our families have been friends for years now - he really does have that unicorn he's so fond of." He smirked.

"I'll believe it when I see it." She laughed, and he joined in. For a moment, all seemed right with the world, and as they spun and talked on, a friendship seemed to form between them.

When they finally broke apart, she curtsied and he bowed, and waved over a rather dapper man who stood along the wall. "I'd like you to meet someone."

"I never did catch your name." She smiled as the man approached them.

"Well, I am Lord Dylan Riverdale, of the Riverdale's of Riverdale, ruling over Riverdale for centuries." He droned, as if he were reading from a textbook, and Elsa stifled a laugh, "And this handsome gentleman," he smiled, taking the man's arm, "Is my boyfriend Prince Harold Ardmore, of Kinston." Harold extended his buff arm and smiled warmly at Elsa.

Elsa was shocked momentarily, but broke into a smile and took Harold's hand into hers. "Lovely to meet you, Harold. I'm Queen Elsa of Arrendale, but I would appreciate it if both of you would merely call me Elsa."

"Of course, Elsa." smiled Dylan, as Harry added, "Just call us Dylan and Harold. Or, for me, Harry if you prefer. I'm rather alright with anything."

"Excellent," Elsa chuckled, "It was lovely dancing with you Dylan, as well as meeting you Harry. You're welcome to visit our castle anytime, and please, do stay in touch." She smiled as they walked off.

"ELSA." Anna shouted as she collided into her sister.

"Woah!" Elsa said, quickly catching herself and steadying her sister. "What was that all about, Anna?" she frowned.

"I'm sorry Elsa, I just thought that maybe itwouldbereallycoolifyou..." Anna rambled momentarily, before Elsa held up a hand.

"Slow down, and say that again." Elsa said softly.

"Ok, right, sorry." Anna took a deep breath, and began again, "Well, remember that day when I kind of, you know, saved your life and all?"

"Yes Anna, of course I remember. Is there a point to this?" Elsa looked at her quizzically.

"Well, remember afterwards when you turned the entire palace courtyard into an ice skating rink? Well, if you could do that now it'd be amazing." Anna smiled cheekily.

"Of course I'll do that." Elsa smiled, "You could have just asked."

"Ladies and Lords, Kings and Queens, Princes and Princess, may I have your attention?" Elsa's powerful voice filled the vast ballroom, and there was a soft shuffle as people turned to face her, followed by dead silence. Anna stood beside Elsa, and almost melted under the gazes of three hundred people - how Elsa could stand this pressure, she had no clue.

"Seeing as this is a celebration, no party is complete without activities - so what do you folks say to a touch of winter in this beautiful palace of spring?" Elsa's question was followed by clapping, and a few sole cheers. With a grin, Elsa extended her thin fingers, and felt that familiar buzz of ice rush through her veins. All around her noticed Elsa's eyes sparkling and glittering with power, as a thin stream of ice rushed forth from her fingertips. The ice slipped underneath their heels and boots, and replaced their shoes with glittering, albeit a bit chilly, ice skates. The ice quickly covered the floor, as servants slid around, clearing the tables. The band continued to play on, their music growing louder. Laughter and shouts filled the air as people from all over slipped and glided around, some holding hands, others dancing or some simply skating along. Anna skated off to Kristoff and Olaf, twirling into Kristoff's arms. Dylan and Harry laughed as they held each others hands and spun slowly. Elsa noticed twelve older men, all of whom looked strikingly like Hans, twirl and skate around with women. Everyone was having a good time with their significant others, except for, of course, Elsa.

A pang filled her stomach, and she turned away quickly and stalked off, not wanting to lose control. She entered into the warm spring night, her fingers itching for a bit of snowy fun. As laughter streamed out of the open door behind her, she let the garden explode into a frosty wonderland. A single, frozen tear fell out of her eye and onto the stones below her feet, shattering into thousands of tiny pieces. Tonight was supposed to be the night - but so far, things were looking pretty dismal.

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**Aww, poor Elsa :(. I love Dylan's character and how he'll develop into the future. Next chapter will be a good one, I pinkie swear. Thank you sosososo much for reading, and pretty please leave a review so I can improve my story. Until tomorrow, my lovelies!**


	3. Light it Up

**I seriously did not expect for my fanfic to be this well received. SIX reviews and it's only on the SECOND chapter so far? I'm loving this! Anyways, on to chapter three! Thank you sososo much to my five new reviewers - I love hearing what you guys think. Here we go!**

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Elsa plopped down on the cold bench, as the ice began to recede from the frozen flowers. She had never experienced such a burst of jealousy in such a short time from simply seeing people in love. Did she really want it that much?

She leaned her head back to count the stars, and summoned small flurries with a wiggle of her fingers. Behind her, the jovial sounds of the ball streamed from the open door. Sounds of laughter rang in her ears like bells, and she wanted to plug them up so she could hear nothing at all. She resumed her counting to calm herself. Seven, eight, nine, ten... The snow was accumulating rather quickly at that point, when suddenly, a sharp wind came from the north. She was struck by it's ferocity, and she snapped out of her depressing reverie. As quickly as the wind began, it ceased. Confused, Elsa ran her fingers through her hair and ceased the flurries. She had no wish to go back to the party.

Behind her, she heard what sounded like a soft thud followed by footsteps. Elsa didn't turn around, and only listened to them get closer and closer. When she finally did turn, she saw a man, who was seemingly normal, at least at first. Her eyes worked their way up his tall, lanky body, which was swathed in a fine silk suit. She finally made it to his angular jawline, then to his thin pale lips, which seemed to be frozen in a perpetual smirk. This led to his tiny nose, then to a smattering of pale freckles that lay across them. White blonde hair wrapped his snow-white face, and finally, she let her eyes meet his, and the world stopped. The sounds of the ball faded away as she met not the man's eyes - but her own. They were the exact same, mirror images.

"Beautiful night for a flurry, hm?" He smiled, his voice throaty and rumbly like thunder.

Elsa gave her head a tiny shake, and responded with a shaky smile, "Well, any night is perfect for a snow shower."

The man gestured to the seat next to her, "May I?"

"Of course." She responded, scooting over to make room for the gentleman.

He sat next to her, pushing his gaze up to the night sky as well. They sat there, momentarily, in a peaceful silence, until his rumble of a voice shattered it. "So, Queen Elsa, what brings you to the palace gardens, on the night of which, according to your conversation with Lord Ellington, you're supposed to be searching for a suitor?"

She was about to respond, but stopped. This man was listening to her conversation with Dylan? She had never even seen this man before, let alone while she and Dylan were dancing. "You were listening into Lord Ellington and I's conversation?" She looked over at him, finding him to be a good 5 inches taller than her, and watched his reaction. His face, however, remained neutral as he calmly explained himself.

"I was merely walking by and I overheard you two as you swooned over him."

"Swooned over him?" Elsa sputtered, "He is in a relationship, I certainly did not _swoon_ over him!" she exclaimed, looking back up to the stars, frustration building in her chest. The wind began to pick back up again, and she realized the stars and moon were now hidden in a thick black cloud. "And even if I did think of him as a potential suitor, it should mean nothing to you..." She stopped, and looked around. The wind had almost stopped completely, and the man was gone. Heavy footsteps thudded behind her. Elsa turned and rose swiftly, her white blonde hair swirling in the dying wind.

Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, Dylan and Harry came running towards Elsa, their faces a mix of terror and confusion. "The docks, Elsa!" Anna exclaimed, grabbing a hold of Elsa's hands and pulling her towards the palace, "They're on fire!" Elsa, still shocked that the man has disappeared, followed, stumbling occasionally. She tried to gather a hold of her senses and pull herself together - I am the queen, and my people need me, she told herself. They made their way out of the courtyard, and towards the growing fire that seemingly lit up the entire kingdom. The stars, she realized, had not been blocked out by a cloud, but by the billowing smoke from the flames that now licked the sides of four large wooden ships. Two of which, she realized, contained flags of Riverdale and Kinston.

"Queen Elsa!" Cried a group of people who were hastily dousing the ships with water, "Please help us!". All around her, people churned and tumbled with chaos

Elsa hastily made her way to the crowd of horrified onlookers, raising her pale fingers. Her shimmery train flitted behind her as she walked briskly onward, face illuminated by the light of the flame. As she walked, the water seemingly pushed itself up and over the boats, wrapping each one in a sheet of ice. This wrapping process seemed like hours to Elsa, yet it was only a period of a few short minutes. When each boat was finally coated with ice, Elsa let her hands drop and let out a huge gust of air. Exhausted, she lifted one shaky hand, and let the ice crack - only to watch each boat crack thunderously and turn to dust with it. The dust and ice shards crashed into the water, bubbled momentarily, and the ocean was once again flat.

Elsa's face burned with anger and embarrassment. How could she have done such a stupid thing? She was an idiot. She turned on her heel and walked off, head down in shame, but was rather surprised to hear the loud bursts of applause behind her. She turned quickly on her heal and pushed her way through the crowd, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Elsa! Elsa, wait!" Called a smooth voice. She felt a strong grip wrap around her arm, and turned to see Dylan smiling down at her. "That was amazing - you're amazing! Wow Elsa - wait, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she lied, attempting to pull her arm away, "just really tired."

And she was. As those words crossed her lips, exhaustion hit her like a wave and she stumbled. Around her, the world spun, the now visible stars streaking across the inky backdrop.

"Woah," Dylan chuckled, catching her and lifting her into his strong arms, "Take a deep breath, Snow Queen."

"I'm going to be sick." Elsa moaned, closing her eyes and breathing sharply through her nose.

"Let's get you back home and in bed, you're white as snow - pun intended." Dylan smirked as he made his way through the parting crowd.

"That was a terrible pun." Elsa said softly with a light grin. A thought suddenly struck her. "Dylan, your family's boat! It's..."

"Destroyed?" He said, not looking down at her, "I'm well aware. That's okay - you tried. And besides, Harry's boat is gone too, so we'll be able to be together, at the least."

"I'm so, so sorry Dylan. You two are both welcomed at the palace, and will be provided with whatever essentials are necessary until a new boat is finished so you may return to Riverdale, and Harry to Kinston." She sighed, rather embarrassed. "Gosh," she mumbled as they crossed the courtyard, "I'm such a fool. I should have known the boats would have cracked and-" Dylan interrupted her.

"Thank you for the kind offer, and Harry and I will most likely take you up on it, however, it's not your fault the boats caught on fire."

"I'm aware, but perhaps if I hadn't been so caught up with..." She stopped for a moment, thinking. She had never actually learned the mysterious man's name.

"Caught up with what?" Dylan asked, as they began to ascend the palace staircase.

"N-nevermind." She faltered. "Where's Anna? Harry?"

"If I'm correct, they should be..." He stopped for a moment as he kicked open her door with a boot, and everyone sitting on her bed turned to gaze at her.

"Elsa!" Cried Anna, who quickly took her from Dylan's arms and hugged her. Gently she led Elsa to bed and lay her down, pulling the sheets over her body as Elsa's lids began to flutter.

"I-I..." Elsa faltered. Before anything else was said, Elsa blinked into unconsciousness.

The next morning, after Elsa had bathed the soot from her hair, and slipped into a simple light blue dress that had sleeves that ran a few inches under her wrists. The skirt fell about five inches short of her knee. She paired the dress with a pair of white flats, and braided her long hair, slipping her crown into place. After smearing on a light amount of makeup, she made her way down the stairs and into the dining room, she found, much to her surprise, a large gathering at the table.

"There she is!" Anna called, sweeping her sister into a large hug, Kristoff coming up behind her and wrapping his large arms around them both. Elsa felt a soft pressure at her lower legs, and heard Olaf sigh and murmur "I love these hugs." Dylan and Harry both came running up behind them and embraced them as well. They all chuckled and released one another, taking seats around the table, and digging into breakfast. They discussed the events of last night with Elsa, and Elsa told them of her night as well, purposely leaving out the part about the mysterious stranger. As they discussed onward, the topic eventually fell to the source of the fire.

"Perhaps an unattended candle?" Harry chipped in, spooning yoghurt into his mouth. Outside, a harsh wind whipped at the old castle, and the building creaked warily. Otherwise though, the sun shown through the towering windows.

"Maybe someone the exact opposite of Elsa?" Kristoff offered, and everyone laughed.

"Or," Dylan began, eyes cast on the vase in front of him, lost in deep thought, "perhaps it wasn't an accident."

"Well, someone in here has a brain." Came a rumbling voice from behind them. Elsa froze in her chair, tea-cup halfway to her lips. She heard footsteps approach the table, and someone come to stand behind her chair. "Pardon my interruption, your Majesty."

Elsa placed the tea-cup down, and turned her head. There stood mystery man, in all of his ice-eyed glory. Although, instead of a silk suit, he wore a black button down and blue jeans. His eyes sparkled mischievously, and his trademark smirk adorned his face as he gazed down at Elsa. "What a pleasure to see you again. May I add, you look positively lovely this fine morning."

Anna stiffened and shot a look at the man. "You know this man, Elsa?"

The man looked at Elsa, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise. "You didn't tell them about our little chat in the garden last night, Elsa? No matter." He lifted his head, and addressed the entire table. "I am King Jack Frost, ruler of the Northern Lands. And the fire you experienced last night was, as our friend Lord Ellington so simply put, no accident. It was arson."

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**OH DAMN. THE SUSPENSE OF IT ALL. Just kidding, not too suspenseful of an ending, but a lot occurred in this chapter. So much more is too come, I assure you. I'm so excited to start writing this story, and to have all of you along for the ride. Thank you for staying tuned in, and I'll try as soon as I can to have the next part out. As always, thank you sosososo much for reading, and if you would be so kind as to leave a review, I will be highly appreciative. Also, to address a certain person, this story is a completely original (although not entirely, seeing as Frozen and Rise of the Guardians are owned by Dreamworks and therefore a product of Disney) piece of my own work, and I have not stolen any content from anyone, and any resemblances to any content is completely coincidental. I apologize that this person felt this way, and I assure them that not only have I never read their story, I have never intended on stealing anyone's content intentionally. With all that gross sadness aside, until tomorrow, my lovelies!**


	4. Bad Things Come to Those Who Wait

**OH MY GOSH, Lovelies, you have outdone yourselves. We're up to ELEVEN reviews, and it's only 9:45 in the morning! I'm so excited, my borther just asked me if I was having a heart attack. Never in my life have I ever had this many people appreciate my writing, and for that, I really thank you. So, with that, time to write!**

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Anna's eyebrow raised suspiciously, and looks of skepticism crossed everyone's face as the words flew out of King Frost's mouth.

"Arson?" Harry said, arms crossed over his chest.

"Yes, Prince Harold, arson." Jack sighed as he plucked a piece of bacon off of the table and into his mouth. Elsa frowned, but said nothing. Anna on the other hand, stood up and narrowed her eyes.

"I don't know WHO you think you are-" She began,

"I'm King Jack Frost of the Northern Lands. I know exactly who I am, and I know exactly what will happen following the events of this fire." Jack interrupted calmly, taking another bite out of his bacon.

Elsa, who finally couldn't take it any more asked, "And what it that King Frost?".

"All with good time, Elsa, all with good time." He smiled, stroking her face gently. His touch sent not butterflies, but pterodactyls roaring in Elsa's stomach. She could feel her face burning under his touch, so she smacked his hand away.

"I-I will not have this, in my dining room!" She stumbled, standing up with such force it knocked her tea cup to the floor. Jack just smiled, and took a few steps backwards so he was standing just behind the threshold of the door.

"So now, may we continue this little conversation now?" He smiled innocently.

"Ugh!" Elsa huffed, and with a wave of her hand the door slammed shut and a thin layer of ice appeared over it.

"So, I'll just return to my room then?" He asked from behind the wooden door.

"Your room?" Elsa asked, confused.

"Well, my ship was one of those lost in the fire, and your guards offered me a place to stay after that horrific incident. You know, the ones with the boats and the fire." She heard King Frost attempting to stifle his laughter from behind the door, and pinched her nose.

"You have to be kidding me..." She mumbled.

"I'm not!" Jack called from behind the door, and she heard him make his way up the stairs. She turned back to the table, to five sets of curious eyes.

"Guess who's our new roommate." She hissed.

...

Later that day, Anna and Kristoff went off to go "swimming" in a small lake in the woods. Elsa sat in her room, feet tucked underneath her, a book in her hands. She was rather engaged in her reading, and the knock on the door startled her. "Come in." She called. Dylan peeked his head around the corner and shot a warm smile Elsa's way. She returned it, closing her book and patting the spot across from her on the bed, as to offer an invitation for Dylan to sit.

Dylan crossed the room and sat across from her, and said, excitedly, "You would not believe how cute the other price who's ship was burned is." Elsa laughed, and looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Don't go leaving Harry now." She smiled.

Dylan laughed, and said "Would never dream of it. Besides, I was talking more about for you anyways."

Elsa was quiet for a moment, before getting up and taking Dylan's hand, pulling him off the bed with her. "Take me to him then."

Dylan led Elsa down the hallway and towards the guest rooms, four of which had each visiting nobilities crest stamped on them. The final one Elsa recognized as Toxilligate, a Kingdom rather far south from Arrendale. She took her pale hand and rapped on the door. The door creaked and opened slowly, and Elsa could see why Dylan was so excited.

A tall, built, and shirtless man was standing on the other side of the door. His skin was a pore-less caramel brown, and his eyes were as green as grass. His irises, however, were rimmed in a deep, but bright red color. They were tucked behind thin glass frames, which sat on his nose, and in Elsa's opinion, completely accentuated his already handsome features. He smiled, showing off a mouth full of perfect teeth and said, "Your Highness. May I be of any assistance to you?"

Elsa smiled, and said, "Well, I was just about to dash off to the library for some reading. Care to join me?" Elsa could swear, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the door to Jack's room creak open, but she brushed it off.

"Why, I'd be delighted. I'm Prince Gregory Adelaide of Toxilligate, but both of you can call me Gregory. Allow me to, just..." He laughed and indicated to his shirtless torso.

"Of course." Elsa giggled. She turned to Dylan, who clapped quietly, and excitedly. He headed off back to his room as Gregory resurfaced, and they made their way over to the towering library.

The Library of Arrendale's castle was Elsa's favorite room in the entire house. It was packed wall to wall with book after book about almost any subject one could read. The towering, stained glass windows cast a multitude of beautiful colors and shapes onto the books, and gave the whole room a fairly-like appearance. After her parents had kept her away from Anna, this place had been her go-to for whenever she felt sad.

"Wow." Gregory breathed, running his fingers along the spines of the novels.

"Pick any one you're drawn to." Elsa smiled and pulled a tome from a shelf, and settled herself onto one of the piles and piles of cushions she had dragged up here as a child.

He drew one from a stack, settled himself on a pile across from Elsa, and fell into his novel. They occasionally glanced at each other flirtatiously over the tops of their books, but remained mostly silent. As the day turned to night, Elsa closed her tome, and Gregory did as well. They made their way downstairs, talking excitedly about their books to each other, and returned to their rooms to ready for supper.

For two weeks, they went on like this. He eventually joined their breakfast group, as everyone excitedly talked about their plans for the day. Harry and Dylan were basically playing tourist at this point, exploring Arrendale together. Anna was spending her days fluttering around the palace and observing the construction of the boats, which, as the days got warmer, was taking a lot longer to complete than originally anticipated. After breakfast, he and she would make their way up to the library, where they would spend their day reading. Occasionally, Dylan and Harry would join them, along with Anna. King Frost, however, was nowhere to be seen. He remained cooped up in his room, where he was alone.

One day in the library, as Elsa and Gregory were selecting novels, both of their hands fell on a book that they wanted to read. They looked up at each other and grinned, Elsa tugging it from him.

"My castle, my book." She giggled.

"Yeah, well, have you ever heard the saying, 'Always listen to the guest'?" Asked Gregory, tugging the book back towards him.

"No, can't say I have. Have you heard of the saying, 'Beat up the guest because he's taking your book'?" Elsa laughed, rolling up the sleeves of her dark blue sweater.

Gregory smiled, and said, "No, but I have heard, 'Tickle the Queen into submission'." And with that he reached out and grabbed Elsa by the waist, pulling her into the pile of cushions.

The book thumped to the floor, forgotten, as Elsa and Gregory wrestled with each other, laughing and shouting and tickling. After a good five minutes, Gregory ended up on top of Elsa, pinning her to the floor. They both were breathing heavily, staring into each others eyes. Gregory's eyes flicked to Elsa's lips, and small butterflies fluttered in her chest. Leaning down he pressed his lips against hers, gently at first, but with increasing intensity. Elsa reached up and tangled her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. He grinned onto her lips, the swept his tongue along the bottom of her lip, as if asking for entry. Her lips parted, and they pressed up against one another, the curves of their bodies fitting into each other's like puzzle pieces. Elsa's heart was pounding across her ribcage. Something was wrong. Well, not wrong - it just didn't fit. Elsa tried to ignore this feeling, but it grew as the intensity of their kissing grew.

As they kissed, strong wind racked the tower.

_Crack_.

They broke apart and saw a large crack had spidered its way over the stained glass windows.

"How on earth-" Began Gregory, but he was interrupted as the library door banged open, and King Frost stormed in, accompanied by two guards.

King Frost looked at Gregory and Elsa intertwined on the floor together, and said, in a snarky tone, "Am I interrupting something?"

"No!" Elsa said sharply, pulling herself up and off of the floor, and dusting off her clothes. "What is it, Frost?" She asked impatiently.

"It's Anna and Kristoff. They're missing." Jack said, his mouth set into a grim line.

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "They're off at the swimming hole. I'm sure they're not missing."

"They haven't been home in SIX hours. They weren't at breakfast." Jack's face stayed neutral.

Elsa shook her head, but her heart rate picked up. "You're wrong. Come on then, let's check for them." She strode off, her boots thudding on the stone stairs as she descended, King Frost and Gregory at the back of the group. Jack slowed down to let Elsa get ahead, and then stopped, whirled around and slammed Gregory against the wall. His head hit the stone with a thud and he grimaced.

"You." King Frost growled, pinning Gregory to the wall and meeting his eyes. "You stay away from Elsa, you understand?" He jabbed Gregory with his a thin finger and hissed, "I don't trust your kind." King Frost turned and continued down the staircase, while Gregory slumped to the floor, rubbing the back of his head. He peered at his shirt, and found, to his shock, that where Jack had touched him, was covering in a fine white shade. He touched it and his blood ran cold.

His shirt was frozen solid.

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**Cliff endings aren't definitely not my specialty. But ohh snap, do we see a love triangle forming? Perhaps a love... SQUARE? Where are Anna and Kristoff? So many unanswered questions, all to be revealed in coming chapters. So yes, It did take me a while to write this chapter, and this chapter moves really fast and kind of sucks and I'm truly sorry for that. However, I hoped you enjoyed it, in all of it's beautiful and short suckiness. Thank you sososoosoosos much for reading, and feel free to leave a review - I love hearing how I can improve my writing. Until tomorrow, my lovelies!**


	5. Awkward

**Ooh, the rating changed :) There is some sexual content in this chapter that I added as a spur of the moment sort of thing, so I have to change the rating. The story is still the same, just make sure you're mature enough to read about that sort of stuff. And our reviews more than DOUBLED overnight! ashfdjgkl You guys are fantastic! Anyways, please enjoy this next chapter, and I'll catch you at the end of today's chapter.**

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The hooves of Elsa's horse thundered along the sodden ground of Arrendale's forests. She heard Jack and the guards riding behind her, but Gregory had stayed behind at he palace. She pushed that thought away, and focused on finding Anna and Kristoff. After attempting to question Olaf on Anna and Kristoff's whereabouts, he only provided the words, "He told me not to tell you." When Elsa had asked who "he" was, Olaf had literally pulled off his mouth. Perks of being a snowman, I guess.

Finally, Elsa began to near the swimming hole, and her heart thudded along with the rapid pounding of the horse's hooves. What if she found something there?

What if she didn't?

Either way, things could go horrifically wrong. If Anna and Kristoff were, indeed, missing, a kingdom-wide search would need to be issued. People from all over would need to be looking for the pair. Her horse came to a stop. This was the part she hated - dismounting. She was horrible at it, seeing as she never got out much as a child. She pulled one foot out of the foot holder and pulled it up. Her leg was now resting comfortably - but very awkwardly propped up onto the back of the horse. She went to pull it off, and slipped. Then Elsa fell - right onto King Frost. Not into his arms - but _on_ him.

"Wha-" Jack was cut off as he toppled to the ground, Elsa's back on his, as he face-planted onto the moss that blanketed the ground. After the both finally stopped falling, they both sucked in air through their teeth, and mumbled "ow" under their breaths. Jack was the first to rise, and he quickly brushed off his face and jacket. He extended an arm to Elsa, who gladly accepted it, all the while spurting apologies.

"It's fine. Just, if you're going to try and kill me next time, don't try the surprise jump attack from the back of the horse. Never works." He actually smiled at her, instead of his usual smirk, as they made their way towards the clearing. As they approahced, they could hear soft sounds, sighs and... was that a moan? Elsa raised her eyebrow quizzically as she walked into the clearing, only to see Anna and Kristoff. She breathed a sigh of relief, and was heading straight towards them, when it registered what they were doing. Anna and Kristoff were in the middle of having sex.

"Oh my god." Elsa said, her hands flying to her eyes as she turned away. "Anna, Kristoff, **_what_** are you doing?!" She exclaimed, her face turning a deep red as she heard them fumble for clothes.

"Well, that's pretty obvious - each other." She heard Jack snicker from where he stood a few feet away, stifling laughter. She stepped closer and smacked his arm, hard. He grabbed it and gave her an exaggerated "ouchie"-face look. Huffing, she turned, only to see Anna standing there in her underclothes.

"Look Elsa!" She cried, extending her fingers, wiggling them dramatically, "Kristoff proposed!" The stone itself was pretty big - Kristoff must have saved up for months for it.

"I'm happy for you, really, I am, it's just, if you could finish putting on your clothes, I would appreciate it."

"Right, yeah, sorry!" She smiled, bouncing back off.

Jack sidled up next to Elsa. They both kept their eyes on the tree-line.

"Are you still angry at me?" He asked with a smirk.

"Yes." She answered calmly.

"You still don't want me here?" He asked again, his smirk growing.

"Yes." She said again, her impatience for him clearly showing through.

"Would you go on a walk with me for a moment?" He asked, his smirk suddenly fading.

"Ugh, YES, King -" She stopped, a bit confused at what she had just said.

"Great." He grabbed her arm, and pulled her into the woods.

As they walked further and further, Elsa started to question the King's intentions. Did he want to hurt her? Rape her and leave her for dead? When they had finally walked, at a brisk pace, away from the party for a good 15 minutes, she jerked her hand out of his, giving her a small feeling of regret.

"Alright Frost, say what you need to say." Her ice blue eyes flashed, she was done with Jack's games.

"Fine." He took a deep breath in, and said, "I really don't trust Gregory. At all. There;s something wrong with that guy - have you seen his eyes?" His eyes sparked with curiousty and earnest.

"Yes, I have. They're a lovely forest green, with -"

"Red surrounding the iris, I'm aware. Are you a believer in magic, Elsa?"

"No." She said sarcastically, lifting her hand and causing a flurry to appear around them. "I certainly do not believe in magic."

"I mean," Jack paused, perhaps for dramatic effect, "Dark magic."

"Dark magic? What would that entail?" Asked Elsa skeptically.

"Evil."

"Well, If you're asking me if Gregory is evil, I can definitely assure you that he isn't."

"Oh really? And how can you be so sure?" Jack asked defiantly.

"Because I would have felt it when I kissed him. And I felt nothing but..." She looked directly into Jack's eyes, at a loss for words.

"You felt nothing but nothing, didn't you?" Jack asked calmly, looking at her. "You can tell me Elsa, it's okay, I'm here to help."

"Help me?" She laughed harshly. "Help me? With what? You don't know me, and I don't know you. You're being ridiculous!" She screamed at him.

"Me? I'm the one being ridiculous?" Jack asked sternly, not raising his voice. "You're the one screaming right now, after I just offered to help you with the demonic thing you call a boyfriend."

"Gregory is not my boyfriend!" Elsa shouted at him.

"It sure looked that way when you had your tongue down each other's throats." Jack retorted.

Elsa had had enough. She huffed and stormed off, her boots leaving footprints of ice on the ground.

"My name is Jack. Jack Frost." Jack called after her, hoping this would work. "My favorite color is blue - the color of your eyes."

'How stereotypically stupid' Elsa though to herself as she trudged on, but she blushed a bit despite herself.

"And when I was fourteen years old, a woman with eyes that were the _exact_ same as Gregory's came and stole my father's heart. She stole my mother's sense of security, and her self-esteem. And by the time she stole both of their lives, my mother was so deep into depression that it didn't even matter - her life was gone long before. Now you know me."

Elsa stopped at these words, and turned slowly, her eyes flashing. Something had clicked in her head. "And you don't want to end up like your mother, do you?"

Jack stopped, a bit taken aback. "Well, no, but nobody-"

Elsa interrupted, walking back towards Jack. "So that's what this is about, Frost. This is some sick analogy, because _you_ like _me_."

Jack's smirk was gone now, replaced with an angry frown. "That's not what this is about!"

Elsa smirked. "Oh, so it does exist then?"

"No!" Jack hissed approaching her, "It doesn't, and I'll prove it to you!"

He took her face in her hands. Elsa's heart could barely even begin to pound - it happened too fast. One second, his cold hands were on her face, and in a flash, his lips were on hers. At first, nothing happened. Then, a split second later, her senses came alive in a rush. The taste of his lips on hers, a peppermint-like zing. The smell of him, mint and spices all rolled into one. The flashing of bulbs and fireworks behind her eyes. The ring of bells in her ears. Sharp wind from the north pushed her even closer into him. Had that been there before? It didn't matter now. And then, a sharp sound. Like the freezing of ice. The kiss had lasted maybe two seconds, and Elsa quickly pulled away. Jack's eyes were as wide as saucers, as were hers. She waited for him to say something, anything - but nothing happened. They just stood there like that, staring at each other like idiots, breathing heavily.

Jacks eyes suddenly drifted around the clearing where they had been standing, and looked around, uttering "What even..."

Elsa took her eyes to the clearing, and found, to her shock, that the entire clearing was covered in ice and snow. It looked even that the ice and snow had come from where they had been standing just moments ago, and radiated outwards, sending a shockwave of cold through the clearing. Everything had been pushed backed as if there had been -

"It looks like there was some sort of snow-splosion." Jack said observantly.

Elsa was confused. Jack was supposed to be normal. Right...?

"Jack..." Elsa said slowly, looking over at him. Seeing as his back was toward her, she couldn't see the smile that spread over his face when she said his first name. "Did you cause the wind to blow from the north...?" Her voice wavered a bit as she asked him, her eyes widening with realization.

He smirked and shrugged.

Elsa was confused and shocked, and to be honest, upset with Jack. Why did he _have_ to kiss her?

So, she did what a girl like her did best - turned around and walked off, leaving Jack, the snow, and icy footprints in her wake.

...

Later that night, Elsa swooped into the dining room. Her hair was curled up into a bun, her crown tucked neatly into her hair. She wore a black sweater, blue skinny jeans and black flats. Her friends were already seated around the table, minus Kristoff, who had refused to even glance at Elsa or Jack the entire day, out of sheer embarrassment. There was an open spot for her, sandwiched between Gregory and...

Jack?

Oh jeez, here we go.

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**YAY for ANNA and KRISTOFF! AND OF COURSE FOR ELSA AND JACK ;D! Lot's is to come folks, so stay tuned - sorry this chapter took FOREVER to come out, it was difficult for me to write. I'll be attempting to post another chapter later tonight. Regardless, until tomorrow, lovelies!**


	6. Backstabber

**Ahh my gosh, Anna and Kristoff's wedding is only two chapters away, my lovelies! As I sit here in rainy Connecticut, drafting out the wedding scene, I cannot be more excited for the things to come. And, excited news, my friends - WE ARE UP TO THIRTY ****_PLUS_**** REVIEWS. This is so much more than I EVER expected, and I'm sosoosososo thankful and grateful for all of you. Without further ado, here is the chapter you were promised in the last chapter. It is currently the longest, and in my opinion, the craziest chapter so far. WARNING: Dark and mature content ahead. Enjoy!**

Elsa casually slipped herself in between Gregory and Jack, and sent a smile all around the table. "Evening everybody." She felt something hot slip into her hand - and intertwine it with itself. She cast a shy smile at Gregory, squeezing his hand. "I believe Anna has some news."

Anna beamed at her sister, before proudly flashing her hand to the table of all boys, flourishing her fingers. "I'm getting married!"

Harry and Dylan clapped excitedly, while Jack laughed softly and Gregory flashed Anna one of his winning smiles. Congratulations were said as they were served that night's appetizer of stew with slices of hardened bread. Elsa, Anna and Jack went on to tell the story of how Elsa and Jack had walked into a more private moment, which had Dylan, Harry and Gregory in tears laughing. Everyone was seemingly warming up to Jack, smiling and talking to him as if he had been at their dinner table regularly. Gregory, however, avoided talking to Jack like he was the plague. After dinner was done, they all said good night to one another, while Elsa went off to work and Anna went off to go console Kristoff.

Elsa was up writing letters until one in the morning, and she finally put down the pen in her cramping hand. She stretched and yawned, and stood up. Her predominantly mahogany study was bathed in the warm light from the fire. She had changed into something a bit more comfortable - a silky, slightly sheer set of night top and shorts. They were an inky blue color and freckled in small stars. As she sealed the last envelope and tucked it into a box for mailing, there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in." She called, her voice sounding much more weary than she felt. Gregory peered through the door, and seemed to look her up and down. He smiled, and walked in.

"You look gorgeous in the firelight." He slurred, taking her by the hand and drawing her close. She grinned as he pulled her in for a kiss and their lips met. Once again, she felt absolutely nothing. She would have thought, at the least, when you're even kissing a person you would feel something. But her heart never pounded, and not a single butterfly roared in her stomach. Nothing. He pressed into her, growing the intensity of the kiss. She leaned in eagerly, hoping if she pressed hard enough, something, anything, would happen. That's when the sharp smell of alcohol hit her nose, and she realized that he had been drinking. He had been drinking heavily. He lifted her delicately, their lips still locked, and carried her out of her office.

He took her into his bedroom, and threw her, rather roughly, onto the bed. She grinned. Maybe a touch of intimacy would help. A fire blazed in the hearth near his bed. He pulled his shirt off, then leaned over and pulled off hers, revealed her soft, ample breasts. He leaned over and lay almost on top of her, pressing their lips together in an almost frenzy. She tried to slow him down, to make it seem more romantic, but it was no use. He was like a demon, at how quickly he worked. The firelight seemed to glow brighter as he worked his way down to her cleavage.

"Greg...Gregory." Elsa managed to gasp out, as she began to struggle against him. It felt amazing, but it was too fast. He needed to stop. Suddenly, his lips were around her teet. Her back arched gracefully and she cried out. His mouth was so hot it almost hurt, especially for someone so cold as herself. She squirmed as he sucked, like a hungry baby. "Gregory..." She moaned, trying to get him off of her, her heart pounding in alarm. "Stop." She managed to say firmly, looking down at him. He only looked back up at her and grinned, almost wickedly. He lifted a hand ever so slowly, and slipped it up inside of her shorts. She froze, terrified, and felt as he stroked her gently through her thin panties. "Stop. Gregory, STOP!" She cried out, thrashing to get away.

Gregory stopped his suckling for a moment, and grinned, crawling up onto the the bed, sitting practically on top of her. He mumbled into her ear "Nobody is going to hear you scream." He smiled, and she looked into his eyes as tears began to blur hers. His eyes appeared more red than green as he began to pull off his pants, where a bulging erection was starting to form. She squirmed and finally began to scream. She screamed loudly, and the fire behind her grew bigger and bigger it seemed with each of her cries.

Gregory frowned, and backhanded her across the face. She shut up immediately, and began to whimper very softly. Elsa knew she needed to act fast, so quickly, she sent a gush of ice flying into his side. It hit him - and _melted. _He growled ravenously, and tore off her silk bottoms. Right before he was about to break into her panties, the door burst open, and something collided into Gregory, sending them both flying off the side of the bed. Elsa rapidly pulled her shirt back on and began to shake. She sunk to the floor, as she heart Gregory and it tussling on the other side of the bed. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Finally the sounds softened to silence. At sometime during the tussle, the fire had seemingly gone out.

"Elsa." Came a gravelly voice, that was tinged with the sounds of sleep. "Elsa, come here." She felt strong arms wrap around hers and pull her up. A familiar scent of mint and spices filled her nostrils as she fell into Jack's arms. She was still shaking, and Jack just pulled her in tighter, holding her as she cried and cried. She hadn't cried, it seemed to her, in so long. The last time she had really cried was _before_ her parent's funerals, when she had a meltdown and her powers went berserk.

As she shook in Jack's embrace, his thoughts wandered to the frozen body that lay next to the bed, just beyond Elsa's line of vision. He decided to get her to bed and discuss it with everyone in the morning - it was best, he decided, to act as if it never happened - as if Gregory was just a dream. He gently, yet awkwardly, patted Elsa's back, murmuring softly into her ear that it was alright. She kept shaking however. When he tried to get her to walk forward, she complied, but did so slowly. Letting out a small breath of impatience, he lifted her into his arms with surprising strength. She dug her head into his nightshirt, keeping it tucked downwards as she shook. He carried her past his door, thought better of it, and carried her into his room. He laid her gently in the super soft bed, pulling the blankets over her as the tears rolled down her face. He wiped them away with his cool fingers.

She reached for his and pulled it close to her, pulling him close to her. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, before he kissed her on the forehead. She, however, tilted his head towards her and kissed him on the lips. Flurries fell from the ceiling rapidly and wind rustled their blankets gently. He pulled away and smiled at her, pecking her forehead once more and crawling in next to her. She turned over, and he cradled her until she finally drifted off as the sun was just beginning to come up. He crawled out of bed at that point, and hurried off to tell the others. And, to fetch her new clothing.

...

When Elsa finally woke from her fitful sleep, sunlight poured through the windows. Her night had been wracked terrifying dreams, and she felt hazy and slow. As she sat up, she rustled something that was gently laid out at the bottom of the bed - a clean, tan sweater, black jeans, a pair of flats and - a bathing suit. She looked up around the room and stifled a gasp. This was _definitely_ not her room. She quickly got changed out of her oddly torn up night gown, whose bottoms were missing, and into the clean and comfy clothing. She put the bathing suit on underneath. As she exited the door, she looked for the crest, and saw it - Northern Lands. Her heart sped up as she descended the staircase, only to find the dining room empty.

She then thought of the bathing suit someone had provided her with, and made her way outside, saddled a horse, and rode off towards the swimming hole. As she approached it, the day had warmed majorly. She hopped off and approached the clearing, she found everyone splashing around in the lake. When she approached however, everyone quieted down, and Dylan came up to her. Even though he was soaking wet, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her as tightly as he could.

"Dylan." Elsa said, confused.

"Mhm..." He said, his face buried in her hair.

"Why are you hugging me like that?" She laughed, trying to squirm out of his grip. Olaf waddled over and came right up to her, wrapping his thin arms around his legs and sniffling.

"What is with everyone today? I'm right here, I'm fine!" She giggled, pulling Olaf off of her.

"If you're so fine..." Came Anna's voice from behind her, a smirky sound to her voice, "How about a dip in the pool?" Elsa turned around just in time to see Anna charge at her in her tiny light green bikini and send her flying into the lake. She surfaced and coughed out water, pushed her hair back and swimming elegantly to the side. She peeled off the sweater, and the black jeans, and watched how the sun hit her pale skin and, admittedly small, black bikini. She laughed and casually hip bumped Anna into the lake, and dove in after her, giggling as they wrestled in the water. Harry and Dylan joined them, and soon, Anna sat on Dylan's shoulders and Elsa sat on Harry's and they were chicken fighting like maniacs. Elsa eventually went flying back into the water while Dylan and Anna cackled like maniacs.

Elsa remained under the water momentarily, enjoying the coolness of it, when suddenly, strong arms came around her, bridal style, and lifted her out. She opened her eyes to Jack, who smirked down at her gleefully.

"Just wanted to make sure you weren't drowning." Elsa laughed at this, then froze the water surrounding Jack. She climbed up onto it, rolled off the edge, and slipped back under, unfreezing it while she did. "Hmmm," Jack wondered, spinning gently, "I wonder where Elsa is." Suddenly, he was tugged under with a loud splash. He opened his eyes in the crystal clear water, and smirked at her. She smiled gracefully, and faked a curtsy. She took that time to admire Jack's chiseled body, tight v-line and low slung bathing suit. She pushed back up to surface, laughing. He came up from in front of her, pulling her close to him and looking down into her eyes. Wind rustled the trees ever so slightly.

"Two can play at this game." He smirked down at her, and pulled her back under. They looked at each other momentarily, and Jack leaned in closely, then kissed Elsa's cheek, pulling her back up above water so he could hold her again.

"I guess I wasn't invited?" Came a voice from the edge of the clearing. Elsa turned out of Jack's comfortable grip and strained her eyes against the sunlight, to see someone emerging from the tree line. She stood and walked over, embracing him in a hug.

"What?" Jack cried, shocked. "But he's... He's..."

"Gregory, where were you this morning? I had the strangest dream about you last night." Elsa looked up at him.

"Well." He smiled, pecking her slowly on the lips, only to break apart momentarily. "I hope it was all good things."

"NO." Came a loud, stern, voice, which was smooth like chocolate. "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!". Dylan pushed them apart and shoved Gregory up against a tree. Harry hung back, watching his boyfriend with hard eyes. Anna came running forwards, and smacked Gregory so hard across the face a trickle of blood came from the corner of his lip.

"Stop!" Elsa screamed, rushing forwards, but Jack collected her in his arms. She pushed away at him, shoving at his shoulders, but he was deceivingly strong. Kristoff lumbered forward, and sent his fist into Gregory's stomach. Gregory doubled over in pain, slumping to the ground.

"Stop hurting him! Please!" She cried out, struggling against Jack. He only gripped her tighter.

"I said STOP!" Elsa shouted, and, with all her might, sent what Jack would describe as a "snow-splosion" ricocheting outwards and into Jack, Dylan, Harry, Anna and Kristoff. She rushed through the snow, unbothered, and gently stroked Gregory's muscular back, as he lay on the ground, his face twisted in pain. The wind began to rustle the trees, as Jack rose slowly, his face set in a snarl. He crossed the distance quickly, and shoved Elsa aside, as gently as one could shove a person.

"You son of a bitch. You scum of the earth." He hissed, wrapping his hands around Gregory's neck. "You wiped her memories didn't you?" He said menacingly, "Didn't you?!" He snarled, slamming his head back against the tree.

Elsa stood to go pull Jack off of Gregory, when someone's arm grabbed hers. And the sharp, cold edge of a blade touched itself to her neck. Dylan gasped, Anna screamed, and Kristoff grabbed onto Anna, who had tears running down her face.

"Take one step closer, and I will slit your throat. Any sort of snow tricks, and I'll cut out your tongue, then I'll chop off your fingers one by one." Harry hissed into Elsa's ear. He pauses and looks at Jack. "Let Gregory go, or she dies." Instantly, Jack released Gregory, who delivered a sharp punch and kicks to his side. Harry pulled Elsa by her hair over to Gregory and jack, and dropped her onto the ground next to Jack. Harry pecked Gregory on the lips and they held hands. Dylan let out a soft whimper as Anna pulled him into her and Kristoff's hug.

"Go ahead, Elsa." Gregory sneered, "Kiss your lover goodbye."

"Jack." Elsa whispered, grabbing onto his arm, "What is he talking about?"

"I said..." Gregory hissed, grabbing the knife from Harry and slicing Elsa's arm, "_kiss_ _him_."

Instantly, Jack pulled Elsa forward and pressed his lips onto hers. All around them, wind whipped and roared. Snow tore from the skies, and icicles formed and fell from the trees like daggers. Blood from Elsa's arm stained the snow crimson as Harry dragged her by her hair away from Jack. A single frozen tear ripped itself from Elsa's eye as they dragged her away, and slung her over the back of a horse.

"Hold on tight." Gregory chuckled, as he sharply kicked the side of the horse. It whinnied, then raced off, disappearing quickly into the woods, Harry not so far behind. Jack stood shakily, wind still making the trees crack together. Snow rushed at him mometarily, and broke away to give him a clean, white dress shirt, and a single, gleaming sword. The wind rustled momentarily, lifted him, and he was off, racing after the horses.

As the galloped, Elsa sat there, still in her bikini, feeling rather whorish and terrified. The wind was heaving at her, so wildly it practically pushed her off. This is when she realized that that was EXACTLY what was happening. She loosened her grip for a just a second and went flying off the horse and on the ground. Above her, Jack saw the leap and hurled the sword. It missed it's target of Gregory and instead pierced Harry's spine. He stopped, and fell off the horse, rolling to a stop. Gregory turned, saw his dead lover on the ground, and just pushed faster, riding off.

Jack dropped to the ground and the wind ceased, and he summoned snow to quickly cover Elsa in a gown. She was still bleeding, but not too heavily at this point. Jack scooped her into his arms and held her tightly. She held him back, as the memories of last night slowly, but surely, trickled back into her mind.

"I'm so sorry Jack. I'm so, so sorry." She said into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for not getting rid of him the second I saw him. I'm just glad you're okay." He sighed looking her over.

"Last night... It wasn't a dream. Oh my gosh, and I pulled them off of him. I'm such an idiot."

"Yeah, well..." Jack pulled her close and smirked, "You're my idiot."

"Am I now?" Elsa giggled.

Jack just bit his lip slightly, and his eyes flicked down to her lips. She grinned, and pulled him in tighter. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. And as the north wind whipped around them, Jack laid her on the forest floor, and pressed his lips to hers with growing intensity. Snow fell around them as if they were in a wall of it. As their hearts pounded in sync, the snow and wind roared around their heads. After a few moments Jack pulled slowly away, and shook the snow off of his hair. Elsa laughed and rose up from the ground, and she and Jack walked, hand in hand, back towards the now heartbroken Dylan, the angry Kristoff, and the terrified Anna.

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**Omigosh, and the grey arc of our story is now completed! May I just add, that these six chapters were only an intro, and that much more is to come for our two lovebirds. Thank you SOSOOSOSOSSOSOSOSO much for reading, and if you would like to leave a review, please do as I GREATLY appreciate it. This chapter was a bit more controversial, as upcoming chapters will be, however it's the way my story plot is going to be. I love you all, and I'm so happy I was able to reach this point in my writing.**

**IMPORTANT**

**Anna's Wedding will be a three part special, part 1 published on New Years Day at 1AM, Part 2 at Noon, and Part 3 at 8:00pm EST. Please tune in for this super special event, plus a one month later epilogue tomorrow. Until tomorrow, my lovelies!**


	7. Abandoned - An Epilogue

**2 MONTHS AFTER HARRY'S DEATH.**

_Jack looked down at Elsa, her long hair hanging in her face. Around them, the palace gardens were buzzing with small life - bees and ants flocked by them. But those were the only life nearby as he leaned over and pressed his cool lips onto hers. His lips became urgent, then, as if this was it - they would never, ever see each other again. His tongue swiped against her bottom lip, and she gladly let him in. He kissed her with passion and intensity. He then lifted his head, and her eyelids fluttered open, expecting to meet his beautiful, icy blues - _

_Only to see green ringed in red._

_"Nobody will hear you scream." He says, his voice a blend of Gregory's smooth baritone and Jack's rumbling, thunder-like voice._

And, this was of course, usually when she woke up sobbing.

This early morning was no different, as she shot up it bed, tears streaming down her face. Beside her, the mass in bed turned over, and smiled up at her.

"Nightmares again, Elsie?" It's deep voice rang, as it's strong arms reached up for her and enveloped her in the warmth that was Maximus.

Every since Jack had disappeared the night after Harry's death, it had been nightmares. They varied, but usually ended with Gregory's terrifying saying, and her waking up hysterical. She had been having six or seven a night - sleep terrified her, and she rarely slept for two weeks after his death. After Maximus had literally waltzed into her life, the nightmares had been reducing themselves, and she was able to finally get sleep at night. Now, there were rarely more than three. She slept next to Maximus every night, giving her a sense of security that probably was the cause of the reduction.

Maximus was extremely tall - almost a head or so more than Kristoff. Which meant that Elsa hung a good three inches below his collarbones. He was a big man, strong. His jaw was tight, with a considerably average sized nose. His head was framed by thick, dark hair. His eyes were a neutral and natural grey, and stormy, but his mood was just the opposite - when he walked into the room, the mood could go from somber to happy in less than a minute. He was one of the happiest, nicest people Elsa had ever met - just what she needed after being virtually abandoned by Jack.

"What do you think?" She groaned as she snuggled into her arms, grinning as he pecked her neck slowly.

"Well, the sun's coming up, so there's no need to sleep now." He observed, staring out of Elsa's window.

Elsa turned, and kissed him on the lips, feeling those soft butterflies she got in her tummy every time she did. He pulled her closer, and they lay like that for a while, lips locked and moving gently against each other. When they finally broke apart he looked at her and a huge grin crossed his face.

"What is it?" Elsa smiled, pushing her hair back, "Do I look incredibly horrific?"

"No." He said gently stroking her face "It's just that you're the most beautiful girl in this entire kingdom."

She smiled, a soft blush creeping across her face. Maximus always showered her in compliments, and made her feel amazing.

"Yeah." She grinned at him playfully, "So are you." She lifted herself out of bed and stretched her arms.

He laughed and went to pull her back in, but she wriggled out of his grip. "I need to bathe." she laughed.

"Fine." He smirked, watching as she stripped off her nightclothes.

"Hey, cover your eyes." She laughed playfully.

"Sorry." He smiled, covering his face with his hands, and cracking his fingers open jokingly. She slipped on her robe and strode into the bathroom, where cold water sat in a tub. She disrobed, tentatively placed herself in it, and let her mind wander off.

After Harry's death, Dylan just clammed up inside his room for four days. When he finally did come out, he took one look at Elsa and went right back in.

It had been discovered, after some clever snooping, that Harry had actually been secretly seeing Gregory on the side of he and Dylan's relationship. They had met months ago at a ball over in Kinston - the same night Dylan met him as well.

Dylan didn't attend Harry's funeral.

Anna, much to Kristoff's dismay, had spent most of the time leading up to their wedding planning it - with Dylan. Just to help him get his mind off of the whole endeavor. The affair was two days away, and Anna was busier than ever. As was the palace, whose 18 guest rooms were filled to capacity.

And as for Jack?

Elsa, on waking up two days after Harry's death, noticed that Jack was gone. All of his possessions that his room once held were gone, and any evidence that he had even existed was gone from the palace. Everything, that is, except for one note, scribbled hastily onto a slip of parchment. It help two words.

_"I'm sorry."_

Elsa had gone into her room and let out an anguished scream. Icicles hung on everything by the time she was done yelling. Somewhere deep inside her knew that he was never, ever coming back. So, two weeks after Jack's disappearance, she held a ball, and danced and danced the night away. A couple had passed by while Anna was dancing with an older man, and the two collided. In the confusion, the partner's switched, and Elsa ended up in the arms of Prince Maximus of Aslan.

You can basically see what happened from there.

At any rate, Elsa simply wanted a fresh start. Frost, of course, crossed her mind still at times. She blamed him for the nightmares, and for the sense of insecurity she got whenever she began to drift off to sleep.

She was done with Jack Frost. For good.

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**OOOOOOOHHH Dear me. A guest corrected me and told me I was spelling Arendelle wrong. Needless to say I'm thoroughly embarrassed, and I thank said guest for the correction. Yes, it seems that the dashing Jack Frost has mysteriously run off. Perhaps, though, he'll be back sooner than you think ;)**

**If you didn't notice what I did just then, go ahead and read it again.**

**May we welcome the lovable Maximus to our tale? Oh dear, it seems Jack's got some competition...**

**I will see ya'll at ONE AM (EST) on NEW YEARS EVE. Anna's wedding is approaching, and SHIT WILL GO DOWN.**

**Subtle hinting there, folks.**

**Anyways, my lovelies, I hope you enjoyed this incredibly short little epilogue to the unofficial intro to our story. Thank you sososososoossosososososososososoosos much for reading, and please feel free to leave a review - we hit the forty mark this morning, and I actually almost peed myself. Until New Year's Day, my lovelies!**

**UPDATE: AS I WENT TO POST THIS CHAPTER WE HIT 50 REVIEWS GUYS I ACTUALLY PEED MYSELF OMIGOD I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!  
**


	8. Anna's Wedding - Pt I

**Next part out at 12pm EST! **

**Disclaimer: I Do not own Frozen or The Rise of the Gaurdians**

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Elsa descended the grand front staircase, arm in arm with Maximus. The palace had been attacked last night until early morning with streamers and sparkles. Flowers spilled out of everything they could. Anna's wedding today was going to be beautiful. Hundreds of people were coming to see the Royal Princess's marriage – especially since she had been in the swimming hole incident.

"What a gorgeous day for a wedding." Maximus smiled, kissing Elsa gently on her temple. That's when the bride-to-be barreled into the room, still in her nightclothes, laughing as Dylan tried to put a garter around her head like some sort of circlet.

"Hey!" Elsa caught Anna, who squealed like a school-girl. "You have three hours before you walk down that aisle, and I suggest you have a bath."

"Right." Anna said, as she bounded off in the direction of her chambers. Elsa laughed as she approached Dylan, pulling the garter out of his hands and smirking at him.

"You do realize Kristoff is going to have this in his mouth later, right?" She sling-shotted it towards Dylan, where it missed horribly and struck Kristoff right in the face.

"I'm going to have to pull this off of her with my teeth?" He grimaced, and then laughed. "I'll probably end up missing and biting her."

"You bite my sister on her wedding day, and you, sir, will not wake up the next morning." Elsa countered, grabbing the lacey garment out of his hands and walking up the stairs. "You gentlemen can help Kristoff get ready, and I will help Anna."

"But Elsa…" Maximus whined jokingly, "It won't take that long!"

"True…" Elsa stopped on the stairs, and smirked down at them, "However, someone needs to greet guests." They all groaned, and Elsa laughed as she made her way up the rest of the stairs, and into her bedroom. She threw open her door, and headed over to the gown Anna had selected for her last night. It was a form-fitting gown, with a thin slit up the side. Its color was the lightest of baby blue. It reminded her of the first gown she had made from the snow.

She had bathed earlier that morning, so she simply slipped on the gown. A simple side braid and a little layer of make-up later, she felt she was presentable. After slipping on white heels, she made her way across the castle towards her sister's chambers. She rapped on the door, and it opened by itself, to reveal Anna, trying to slip into her wedding gown. Elsa laughed, and hurried over, helping her slip into the garment. She backed up to look at Anna, and her eyes watered.

The dress itself was beautiful, spun by, it seemed to her, by the silk of spiders. The bodice was white silk, and strapless. The skirt however, fanned out beautifully, lace trimming the bottom. The train was long, a thin thing of white taffeta, which had soft etchings of flowers.

"Oh, Anna..." Elsa pressed her fingers to her mouth, her smile so large it hurt. "You look beautiful."

Anna laughed, and said, "I haven't even put on my makeup yet."

Elsa shook her head, still smiling, and grabbed a brush from the bedside table. She tugged out Anna's knots, until her hair was relatively flat. She took the hair, and pushed it up into a bun, letting a few pieces fall loose. She went to adjust it, but Anna pushed her hand away, smiling into her boudoir.

"I like it like this!" She said.

"Alright, alright." Elsa smiled, grabbing a touch of makeup, and preparing to touch up Anna's face. "You excited?" She asked as she prepped the silvery-purple eyeshadow.

"Of course!" Anna grinned, her eyes closed as Elsa spread on her makeup. "I've been waiting for this moment ever since Olaf told me that Kristoff loved me."

"Did you know that Sven is going to be Kristoff's best man?" Elsa giggled, as she spread a touch of blush onto Anna's cheek.

"Yes, I do." Anna sighed. Elsa spread on a bit of nude, sparkly lip gloss.

"There." She grinned, "All done."

"Thank you Elsa - I mean it." Anna stood up and wrapped her sister into a warm embrace. They stood that way for a moment, before a knock on the door broke thier peaceful moment.

"Ladies" Called a voice from outside the door - Dylan's, to be specific. "I don't mean to alarm you, but we have about fifteen minutes until Anna is to walk down the aisle. And Elsa, because you're Maid of Honor - well, you either walk with the reindeer or me."

"Dylan..." Elsa laughed, as she crossed the area to the door, opening it and standing with one hip on her hand. "I'm walking Anna down the aisle tonight."

...

Fifteen minutes later, Elsa and Anna stood together at the door. Their arms were intertwined, heads high and proud. Anna adorned a beautiful circlet, while Elsa wore her crown.

"Ready?" Elsa whispered to Anna, as the wedding march began to play.

"More than ever." Anna grinned. The doors were opened, and they set off together. The guests stood, in wonder and awe, as the two beautiful sisters made their way downwards. Elsa recognized a few familiar faces from the ball they held a few months earlier. High-up royalty also stood out here and there - The King and Queen of Corona stood towards the front, along with the newlywed Princess and Prince. The room was pretty full - packed, even. Guests who were too late lined the walls of the makeshift chapel. At the front, Kristoff stood with Sven at his side, who huffed impatiently. Kristoff's eyes, however, were set on Anna. If one could glow with love, well, candles wouldn't be needed for the chapel - Kristoff could do all the work with ease.

As they finally approached the altar, Anna turned to Elsa. Elsa laughed, wiping away a tear, and kissing Anna on the cheek. She turned to Kristoff, who bowed deeply to her, and she handed Anna off to him. She then went to go stand on Anna's side of the altar, as Anna and Kristoff turned to face one another.

"Dearly Beloved," Began the priest, as Anna and Kristoff turned to each other and giggled.

After the priests long and tedious speech on love and all that comes with it, he calmly stated, "I'm aware you two prepared vows for each other?"

They both nodded, pulling out slips of paper. Kristoff began.

"Anna, my love, my light, and my lady. Ever since they day I saw you, I knew that we were meant to be. And we needed no 'love experts' to prove that." This earned a small chuckle from the audience. "I promise to protect you. I promise to care for you, whether you're sick or in good health. And lastly, I swear on my life to love you, and cherish you for every beautiful second we are together as husband and wife."

Anna wiped her cheeks, which were stained with tears. She laughed, opening up her slip, and beginning her speech.

"Kristoff, my love, my light, and my greatest friend. At first it took convincing from a very wise snowman," The audience smiled at this, some pulling at handkerchiefs they had stuck into their pockets. "But after that, I never questioned that you were my true love. That you would always be there for me, and be my knight in shining armor whenever I needed you. So, I promise to do the same - I will always be there for you, and be your princess in shining armor whenever it's necessary. I promise o care for you every second of every minute of every day. I will cherish these seconds, every last one of them - but only because I will be with you."

The priest smiled, and announced, "Then so, by the powers vested in me, as official Priest of Arendelle, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Kristoff smiled, and dipped Anna into a very dramatic, yet romantic, kiss. Quickly afterwards, he swooped her up, and carried her, bridal style, out of the chapel, as the room burst into thunderous applause. As they all followed out, Elsa navigated over to Dylan, embracing him in a warm hug.

"Dylan, thank you for staying with us for so long."

He smiled, and was about to respond, but his eyes caught something in the throng of people.

"What is it?" Elsa asked, turning to look. Nothing really caught her eye.

Nothing, that is, except for a pair of icy blue eyes.

* * *

**The drama! The suspense! The Romance! All horribly thrown together in this part of Anna's wedding! Our tale will commence soon friends, so don't fret! See you at noon, my lovelies!**


	9. Anna's Wedding - Pt II

**Holy Crapola. I am SO sorry this is just being published now. My family is about to head back to Beijing, and we've been shopping and packing like madmen. I'm sitting in the airport hotel right now, and a huge snowstorm is about to hit. UGH. Anyways, here's this chapter (finally). I can't post the other one until we get back to Beijing, and I'm so sorry for that :/. Thank you for being so incredibly patient, my lovelies, and here it is. Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of The Gaurdians or Frozen.**

* * *

Elsa quickly looked back to Dylan. His eyes met hers, and, without warning, she set off through the mass of people, pushing as gently as she could to get to Jack. But as she finally reached the person, she realized it was not a he - but a she. A small girl, in fact, who's white-blonde hair was braided upwards in a crown around her head. She stood with a woman who looked almost exactly like her - white blonde hair, ice blue eyes. Elsa felt her heart rate slow down, and felt...

Disappointment? Really? In her stomach. She stopped these feelings, smiled warmly at the woman, and began shortly. "Thank you for attending my sister's wedding."

"Of course!" Her accent was strange, one Elsa had never heard before. "I'm Cecilie, and my daughter's name is Eira." The little girl curtsied, and then smiled widely at the Queen.

"I am Queen Elsa." She curtsied back to the little girl, smiling at her. The girl, suddenly shy, hid behind her mother's flowing skirts. Cecilie laughed, and turned back to Elsa.

"Your majesty, our people are, to put bluntly, positively fascinated with you. We would be more than honored if you were to, perhaps, come up to our Kingdom and pay us a small visit?" Cecilie asked, her eyes looking a bit desperate even.

"Of course!" Elsa smiled, "I'd love to. Write down where I can contact your kingdom on the guestbook outside, and I'll be in touch."

"We're grateful for that, Queen Elsa." The woman curtsied, swept Eira into her arms, and walked off.

Dylan finally pushed through the last of the people exiting the chapel, and stared at Elsa inquisitively. "Who was that?" He asked softly.

"A woman named Cecilie, and her daughter Eira. They asked me to visit their kingdom." She said, watching them walk off.

"Oh." Dylan said.

...

At the reception, after dinner had been served, the party was in full swing. Some people were feeling no pain, while others sheepishly watched from the sidelines. Anna and Kristoff were dancing like maniacs, joined by several other people. Elsa sat at the table, silent, sipping her champagne and nursing a headache. This was another point in her life, when, once again, she couldn't have felt more alone. Dylan had tried to pull her up to dance many times, and Maximus was nowhere to be found, oddly enough. Even Olaf's jokes couldn't lift her spirits. She should be happy, she thought to herself, as she brought her shining goblet to her lips. Happy for Anna and Kristoff, happy for being able to have Maximus, happy that Dylan was finally starting to be happy, and happy that, perhaps, wherever Jack was, he was-

No, stop it, she told herself. No Jack tonight.

Frustrated, she stood up and decided to go on a walk. She began to stride off, rubbing her temples gently, when strong arms grabbed her from behind.

"Wha-" She began, before Maximus spun her around and dipped her gracefully. She laughed, falling into the dance, spinning and twirling. Her mood began to lift substantially.

"So." Maximus grinned.

"So." Elsa smiled.

"I just wanted to say, that while you were standing up there, I realized something." He said, twirling her gently.

"Which was?"

"That you aren't the most beautiful girl in this Kingdom. You're the most beautiful girl on earth."

She blushed, dipping her head down. He grasped her chin with his strong fingers, pulling her in for a quick peck. They broke apart, Maximus for another drink, Elsa because Anna quickly pulled her to the side.

"Elsa," Anna said quickly. "Look..."

A woman, with shining red hair swept up into a bun, clacked wobbily across the dance floor. Her dress, a shimmery green number, was practically see-through as it swished and clung to her body. She approached Maximus, knocking the drink out of his hand, and pulling him in quickly, smashing her lips to his. "I want the entireeee world to knoow, that wee are togetherrr." She slurred, clinging to him to stand up. She pointed at Elsa, and screamed, "She stole _my_ prince!" Elsa felt her heart drop into her stomach, and her feet went numb as eyes all turned to stare at her.

"Lira, silence!" Maximus said, pushing her away. Rage filled her fingers, and she saw red. Before she exploded, she slowly turned and began to walk off, ice forming on the walls nearby.

"Elsa!" Maximus called, practically shoving Lira aside. "Elsa, she's lying!"

But somewhere, deep inside, Elsa knew that she wasn't. When Maximus finally caught up to her, he wrapped his fingers around her arms. She turned her head, filled with rage, and hissed, through her teeth, "Release me." He did, backed up a few steps, and Elsa kept walking. Outside, strong wind began to whip at the castle.

"Elsa, stop, let me explain." Maximus turned, and took one step forward.

Elsa turned around immediately, and snarled, "Don't even bother." She twisted her palm outwards towards the floor, and spikes of ice shot up, almost impaling Maximus. He leaped back in time, looking up to Elsa, who merely turned around and kept walking, her footsteps leaving icy stalactites as she went.

By the time Elsa had made it to the garden, frozen tears were falling out her eyes. The flowers around her frosted over, and an entire tree became nothing but ice. It tried to move in the roaring wind, but it was no use. Elsa was sobbing at this point, the entire garden turning into a wintery mess. She sunk down behind a bush, sitting on the frozen grass, letting the frozen tears pile up next to her. She wanted to just swear off relationships forever, at this point. The wind was whipping so sharply no, the ice was beginning to crack off the leaves and branches of the trees.

It was so strong, Elsa had hardly noticed a tall man, dressed in a black suit, had made her way next to her, sitting down quietly. Her face was buried in her hands, her body wracked with sobs as the pain of the last three months finally fell out.

He picked up a singular frozen tear, letting the wind die down, and, in his rumbling voice, he said soothingly, "I never liked him anyway."

Elsa, startled, scrambled away from Jack, holding up one wintery hand, her heart racing.

"What." She hissed, her heart beat slowing down, her body filling with rage, "Are you doing here?"

"Coming back for you." He said gently, his blue eyes filled with remorse and worry. "Elsa, I'm so sorry I left. Please, please forgive me."

"I..." She lowered her hand, eyes looking over Jack. "Jack... I can't do this right now."

"Please." He begged, eyes full of hurt. "Only as friends, Elsa, never as anything more."

"Never?" She felt a small portion of her heart snap at this, but kept a straight face.

"Never." He said softly, but even his face seemed unsure. She was silent for a few moments. She wiped the tears off of her skirts, and pulled the frost from the garden. It took her a moment, but once she finally did, the garden was still the same as it was beforehand. Extending her hand to him, she pulled him up, and they stood, frozen like that for a moment, before Dylan came barreling through the doors to the garden, eyes devoid of any joy, and filled with fear

"Elsa!" He screamed, grabbing onto her arm. He looked to Jack, and hissed "We'll deal with you later."

"Elsa," He continued, looking into her eyes, pulling her towards the palace door, "We have an unfamiliar group approaching the castle. And they have swords."

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**BUM BUM BUM. Here comes some wicked action, friends. Until Beijing, my lovelies!**


	10. An Apology - The story's not over

I'm a horrible human being.

So, let me explain. I know that I was supposed to release all three of Anna's wedding's scenes on New years day, but stuff came up that day and i wasnt able to.

THEN we left for Beijing a whole day early. After a very stressful 48 hours of traveling, taxiing, losing luggage and screaming little brothers, we finally arrived home, where I promptly - I kid you not - **COLLAPSED** from exhaustion. I slept for an entire day. I made it, staggering, to school Monday, passing out in the middle of P.E. Tuesday was my birthday - which went off without a hitch, and with no collapsing. Then, I got sick. And I've been waveringly sick since then. One day I'll feel fine - I even had a small birthday party on Friday - then the next I'll be curled up in bed, too weak to move. I'm pitiful.

Today, I was reading A.G Howards second installment in her "Splintered" series, as I am still sick and bedridden, and when I finished, *SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER* I screamed. A lot. I was incredibly unsatisfied with the ending, after such a terrific book. Thank GOD there's a third book in the making - A.G, you have played a nasty, _nasty_ trick on us, and I am, as Morpheus would be, seriously impressed.

That being said, it got me thinking. I will channel all this vent up frustration into my writing of the third installment of Anna's wedding, and continue writing my story after that. Thank you for being so amazing and patient, and awesome.

May I just say, that Elsa and Jack's story is _FAR_ from over.

It's only just begun.


	11. Anna's Wedding - Pt III

**I owe you all a huge apology and today I'm finishing this because I'm a terrible person and I owe you all cookies or something fantastic like that. On with the (SERIOUSLY) delayed story - thank you all ssososooososossosoososo much for your patience :)**

* * *

Quickly, they rushed inside the palace, Jack pulled along with Dylan and Elsa. Dylan quickly yanked a sword from a nearby rack, turning to look over at Jack.

"You know how to fight, pretty-boy?" Dylan asked, grabbing another sword.

"Yes." Jack said, taking the sword from Dylan. "Although, I prefer something a bit colder, but…" His eyes rolled over to the sword, which had frost slowly growing up the side. "This'll have to do." He rushed forward with Dylan, as Elsa followed behind, her heels falling off as she ran. Strands fell loose from her braid, and frost appeared in tiny increments wherever she stepped. Although she was slightly scared, Elsa had to admit to herself that she was a little excited. This could give her an opportunity to use her powers as a force of good, defending her people. This would help those skeptical of her have a little faith in their queen.

As they ran towards the grand front doors, they found them open. Guards were pouring out from the gaping threshold, rushing into the courtyard to line up in a defensive formation. Elsa stood behind them, along with a few of the wedding guests. The rest, she assumed, had been ushered away, into the safety of the castle. Elsa could only hope that Anna and Kristoff were among the ones hidden.

Up ahead, she could here frantic shouting as guards placed themselves around the gates, shoving and pushing. There were periodic bursts of light, and Elsa stood confused for a moment.

That's when she realized they were pushing _away_ from the gates. She immediately shot forward towards the bursts of light and the retreating guards. She pushed through the crowd, and when she finally made it halfway through, she realized why they were pushing back.

Fire was everywhere. Flashes of it, being flung through the air hitting the guards. The wooden portcullis that typically hung dutifully over the entrance to the courtyard was ablaze, and quickly disappearing. A guard shoved past her, holding a man who was cradling his burned arm to his chest like a baby. Anguished cries could be heard coming from the front lines. Dylan began to look hesitant, and pulled back, while Jack's typically mischievous gaze was ever so lightly tinged by something darker - fear. Elsa, at a lack for ideas, flicked her hand at the sky, snow falling down towards the hellish scene at the front of the crowd.

She grabbed Dylan's arm, and pulled him closer to the flames, Jack in tow behind them. Above them, thick snow clouds were dumping powder like buckets. As they made their way to the front of the lines she began to see people.

_Throwing_ fire.

Yes, Elsa could not be mistaken - there were definitely people hurling flames. But how?

To the side of the crowds, a guard threw a bucket. Water sloshed out of the side slightly before it collided with one of the invaders. A dull thud filled the air at the contact of the bucket with the man's head, and water drenched his flaming body. He collapsed. The others with him turned and began to fire on the particular guard that had hurled the bucket, and began to fire. Snow swirled and popped, destroying the fire. The wind began to pick up, blowing the fire back into the faces of it's controllers. They seemed unbothered by this, simply letting the fire wash over them.

Elsa, thinking quickly, rushed forward, breaking free of Dylan's grasp. With a quick flick of her hand, ice shot out of her fingertips, cloaking the fallen fire-soldier in a sheet of ice. Instantly, fiery eyes flicked towards her, the flames ceasing momentarily. The army turned as a group, and a low rumble started as tendrils of fire began to form and lick at their hands, itching to escape. They slowly began to close in on her, the man covered in ice forgotten. Elsa shot ice out of her fingertips. A few hit their targets, and a soldier went down, his feet snared in an icy trap. One slip of ice froze mid-air and tore through a man's armor at his shoulder as if it were butter. He hissed in pain, eyes flashing and blazing brighter than the fire at his wrists. The other shards hit the soldiers' breastplates and melted promptly.

This ice barrage, had, at the least, slowed the front lines down enough that the guards were able to begin to fill and fling more buckets of water. Jack stepped forward, standing next to Elsa, sword long forgotten. As more soldiers went down, Elsa shot sheets of ice in their direction, sealing them in icy tombs - at least, for the moment. Jack assisted in this, and by the time they had pecked off nearly thirty men, the rest were looking sheepish. Quickly, the remaining fifty or so men grabbed who they could, pulling twenty men out, and hurried off with the frozen bodies slung over their shoulders. The rest of the bodies lay on the ground, as everyone stood, frozen, unsure of what to do.

"Your Majesty!" Came a voice from the crowd, pulling her back and turning her around. Elsa turned to face Rune Hansen, Captain of the Royal Guard, and one of her closer associates. "Queen Elsa, are you harmed? Why would you fight under these conditions?" His older face, filled with worry, looked her up and down.

"Thank you for your concern Rune," Elsa smiled, taking his hand into hers and patting it gently, "But I'm fine, thank you."

"You fought marvelously, your Highness." a voice came from a guard, and appreciative murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"And my sister?" Elsa asked nervously, as Dylan walked up to her left side and Jack stood icily on her right.

"Doing well, my Lady. Shall I fetch the wedding guests from the chambers?" Rune asked, turning to go.

"Yes, Rune. If Anna requests my presence, please tell her I've retired to my study for some research."

"Of course your ladyship. And what of Prince Maximus?" Rune asked, showing no signs that he heard the commotion earlier in the night. Elsa's heart skipped a beat. She had forgotten about Maximus. Her heart sunk in response, and her lips grew tight.

"Say nothing to him of my locations. I'll be in my study." Elsa said, her eyes icing over. She turned on bare feet, and walked inside the palace, managing to keep her cool as she shut the heavy mahogany doors of her office with a thud.

...

After flipping through three books, four journals, and countless notes, letters, and maps, Elsa still had found no reference of any fire people. Slamming the book shut and stuffing it back into it's shelf, she sank to the floor, letting out a sigh of frustration. Downstairs, the wedding party raged on. The men that had been frozen over and left behind, were, reportedly, taken down to the dungeons, and left on slabs of stone to thaw out. They were also chained and bound, and stuffed into stone rooms that were impenetrable and unescapable - by both ice and fire.

Elsa rubbed at her temples, fighting off a headache that had been growing and churning all night. A knock on the door sounded, and it opened without her permission. Expecting Anna, she remained on the floor head in her hands, surrounded by maps, notes, and letters. She was instead a bit shocked when her eyes met the stormy gray ones of Maximus.

"May I please explain, Elsa?" He asked, shutting the door gently behind him, sitting down next to her.

"Go ahead." She snarled.

"Lira _is_ an ex-lover of mine." He began, hands folded calmly in his lap. No sign of guilt showed on his handsome face. "Emphasis on the "ex" part of that sentence. She was rather attached to me - too much so, at times. Even when I was with my own mother, she would become inconceivably jealous, so much so that she went so far as to yell at her once. I've had to break up many fights between her and several girls before, simply for them addressing me. I ended the relationship very shortly after it began - it never developed much farther than a beginning stage of a courtship. She was clearly severely intoxicated tonight, and acted on impulse." He stopped momentarily, studying Elsa's softening face. He continued, "I never intended her to act so outlandishly. I'm not even quite sure how she found me, I literally had her escorted and banished from my family's kingdom. And I also never intended on hurting you, and I'm sorry that it did."

Elsa sat, silent, playing with her hands. He took them up in his, looking into her eyes. "Forgive me, please?" He smiled.

Elsa tried to suppress her smile, but it shone through her mask. He laughed gently, bringing her face towards his and kissing her tenderly. "Now." She started, pulling him up with her, "I believe we have a wedding to attend."

...

After a few hours more of dancing and singing, Elsa couldn't have felt more relaxed. Kristoff had gotten the garter off of Anna. There were lots of laughs, but there was, thankfully, no biting. Olaf had finally been allotted his first drink of alcohol, and he was, as the saying goes, feeling no pain, despite being a snowman. He slid around the room, flirting with every eligible bachelorette - and, on occasion, bachelor. Dylan and Jack were talking in the corner, laughing as though he hadn't completely abandoned them all. Anna and Kristoff were actually getting prepared to head off to the palace's summer home for their two week honeymoon. The wedding, overall, had been a huge success - despite the entire palace almost burning down.

As Kristoff headed for the door, Anna called for the girls to gather for the bouquet toss. Elsa giggled, leaving Maximus where they had been dancing, to go stand alongside Dylan as he and a swarm of women gathered behind Anna. She turned around, laughed, as Dylan and Elsa exchanged glances and got prepared to grab the bouquet. She tossed the colorful flowers behind her. They arced gracefully, spinning ever so slightly, and headed right towards Elsa. She extended her arms for them, and caught them - only to have them bounce out of her hands and into someone's behind her. She heard throaty, rumbly laughter, and turned to see Jack cradling the bouquet in his arms.

"Well," he smirked, playfully looking up at her, "It's something like fate."

* * *

**FINALLY THATS DONE OMIGOD UGH LET THE RELIEF FLOOD YOU MY CHILDREN.**

**Yeah sorry I'm sick and that does weird things to me.**

**Thank you sosososoosos much for reading and being so patient and fantastic. Just for a catch up - we're up to an ASTOUNDING 12,213 VIEWS. I never, in ALL my life, expected my writing to be seen so much and read and reviewed a FANTASTIC 86 TIMES AND FAVORITED 69 AND FOLLOWED BY 129 PEOPLE guys I seriously can't thank you all enough. If you did like this chapter, pleeease feel free to leave a review, as I would highly appreciate it.**

**I'm thinking, that as schools getting back into swing, that I do about a chapter a week or so. It really depends on what I have going on that week - some weeks I could probably manage two or three chapters, and some, well, maybe not at all. But let's try to not shoot for that.**

**Anywhooooo, I hope you enjoyed the final installment to Anna's Wedding! Some questions to ask yourself:**

**- Where was Jack?**

**- Who are those fire people?**

**- What's going to happen between Jack and Maximus?**

**- Will Olaf ever get a girl?**

**Sooo many questions to be answered in the coming chapters of this story! I'm excited for it's potential! I hope to see you all very soon, and until next week, my lovelies!**


	12. Not Funny, Frost

**Lalalala... Oh, READER! Didn't see you there! I have another chapter for you - yes, right here. I was actually going to ask for some artwork so my story isn't coverless. If anyone would be willing to provide that for me, I'd be FOREVER grateful. Thanks lovelies.**

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Elsa strode into the prison cellars, Rune close behind her, followed by Maximus, Dylan and Jack. Only two days had passed since Anna's wedding, and the frozen prisoners had finally awoken. They had woken, that is, with some startling words and slurs.

As they rounded the corners, Elsa tried to go over what she had learned in the past few days, which was, virtually, nothing. Letter after letter had been sent out in an attempt to gain information on their prisoners - but the efforts had, so far, proved fruitless. The only thing she had been able to gather was that nobody had heard of them.

Rune pulled the keys out of his pockets, fumbling with them slightly, before pushing one into the lock and turning it. The door clicked and groaned, as it swung open to reveal a dark room. In the dim light, Elsa could detect a small man - practically a boy, chained to a wall. His head drooped forwards, his arms hanging limply in their chains. Small puddles of water dotted the room - necessary precautions, as Rune had put it. His clothes hung in tatters, soaked through, and the man quivered. The room itself was damp and cold, making it feel as if Elsa had stepped into an icy lake. Her powers pulsed and flared within her as she stepped closer to the boy. His head attempted to rise, but it fell back down, and he hung even limper than before.

"State your name, and place of origin." Elsa's voice rung in the stone room, as the others stood behind her.

"E-Egan." The boy said, weakly, his words slurred slightly. A strange accent contorted his words. "I come from the land of Gehenna."

"And, Egan, what is your mission here?" Rune hissed, his dagger, which shone in the soft blue light illuminating from Elsa's eyes, twirling in his calloused hands.

Egan was silent for a moment. His head rose, and Elsa got a solid look at his face. A strong nose, cut jawline, and olive skin, topped with a head of dark, matted hair. His eyes remained closed, but he focused on Elsa, his thin lips parting in a wicked grin.

"To capture the Snow Queen, and slay the Snow King." The words 'Snow Queen' and 'Snow King' spat out of his mouth, as if they were poison. Dim fire formed at the very tip of his fingers, and danced on them gently, reaching towards Elsa. Elsa stumbled back in shock, the moisture in the air suddenly condensing and freezing. Frozen raindrops fell to the floor and shattered into thousands of pieces. He laughed at this sound, a cold, menacing laugh, his head drooping once more and the fire disappearing from his fingertips.

"Elsa, Elsa, Diva de Arendelle, amissa caritate delebimus te." He said softly, his smooth voice filling the room and warming it. "Tu monitus."

"Latin." Jack said, sourly, from the back of the room. "Elsa, Goddess of Arendelle, lost love, we will destroy you." Jack strode frontwards, pushing past Elsa gently as he spoke, "You have been warned." His long, pale fingers grasped Egan's chin, thrusting it upwards. A shiver ran through her body. Lost love? She reached for Maximus's hand, only to find him absent. Had he come into the cell with them? Dylan, instead, rushed forward, giving Elsa's arm a squeeze of strength.

"Open your eyes, fire child." Jack's voice shot through the room, his free hand curled into a tight fist. A slow laugh came from the boy's body.

"As you wish, my king." Jack shifted slightly, just in time for Elsa to catch a glimpse of the boys eyes.

Green, with a glowing ring of red around the iris.

...

After Elsa had promptly shot the boy with a layer of ice and stormed out of the cellars, she found herself in the library, which was filled with warmth and books. She let her fingers flit over the titles, selecting one, and burying herself in a chair. She decided she would just let herself fall into her beloved mythology books, which she saved for the rare occasions where she had to be comforted by myth and magic. She flipped open a new book, gifted to her from Glacia, entitled '_The_ _Species_ _of_ _Petra'_, and began to read.

_Long ago, in a freshly formed world, only light existed. The light shone where and when it could, and when it couldn't there was a new thing - Dark. This was the first balance. The second occurred when the light became to powerful, and the dark shone over new the churning seas. Fire was birthed, as was ice. These two balances existed in harmony, as the freshly born world aged, shaped by harmony, and life appeared. It began small, and began to grow bigger, this life, until humans were created._

_Humans were always curious creatures, dabbling in that which they shouldn't. They attempted to spin the balance, and tip the scales. More fire, less ice - More ice, less fire. The third balance was created._

_The Ignus and The Glaciem._

The door burst open, and Jack strode into the room, yanking Elsa out of her reverie.

"What?" She snapped, regretting her harsh tone when she saw Jack's face fall.

"I owe you two things." Jack began, taking a seat across from Elsa.

"Which are?" She asked, closing her book gently and placing it by the foot of her chair.

"An apology and an explanation. So, I'm sorry." He stopped, folding his hands on top of his lap, smiling innocently. Elsa rolled her eyes.

"And?"

"And what? I said I owe you an explanation. I never said I would give it to you." Jack's trademark smirk flashed onto his lips.

"Frost, right now is no time for games-"

"Then why, pray tell, dear Snow Queen, are you sitting here reading books?" He leaned back in his chair.

Elsa, frustrated, spat out "Just tell me!"

"Make me." Jack said calmly, leaning forwards so he could rest his head in his hands.

"Fine." Elsa hissed, glad for an excuse to smack Jack. She rose, her hand twisting, and the room slowly rumbled. Snow and ice began to whirl around Jack, ice balls smacking him in the stomach or head occasionally. The snow around him began to condense and pulse, forming a sort of snow cocoon that swathed his body in silk-like ice.

"Elsa." Came a muffled voice, "Let me out, please."

Elsa however, couldn't be persuaded too. All of her pent-up rage at Jack Frost burst out of her, the snow surrounding them thickening exponentially. She groaned in frustration as she made the snow surrounding Jack thicken and condense, until it was really just a thick case of ice. After another minute of rage, the surrounding snow dropped to the floor and thinned out. Elsa sagged, breathing a little heavily, and dropped back into her chair. The solid mass of ice in front of her didn't move. Instantly, she pushed the ice over and it cracked, falling to the floor and surrounding Jack in a huge pile of shards. He lay there, eyes closed, limp and slightly paler than usual.

"Very funny, Frost. Wake up." He didn't move. Elsa rolled her eyes, picking up her book, her heart rate increasing a bit. She sat back down in her chair and opened her book, keeping her eyes trained on Jack's limp figure. As she tried to pay attention to the words on the page in front of her, she kept her eyes locked on Jack. How long had it been? Easily four minutes since the ice had cracked. Had he moved? Did his eyelid just twitch? All these questions made her heart rate increase. Her eyes drifted back down to the words printed on the paper below her.

_This balance was like no other. This balance was the only balance that could fight - _

Her eyes shot back up. No movement. "Frost, I'm not falling for this." Her eyes drifted back down, heart near pounding at this point.

_and disturb itself. The humans could not control this balance. They were -_

"Frost, this is getting stupid. Open your eyes so we can talk."

No movement. Elsa's heart began to race. She put the book down slowly, approaching the body before her. She knelt down, tugging on Jack's black shirt sleeve.

"Jack...?" She let her fingers flutter up to eyes, pulling up on an eyelid. His eyes were dull, expressionless, and unmoving. "Jack?" Elsa's heart began to race, and she shook his limp body. "This isn't funny, Frost!" She pulled and jerked on his body, with no response.

"Jack!" She screamed at his body, as she took his face into her hands. It was cool and smooth. "Jack Frost, open your eyes..." Tears threatened to spill over, as frost formed on the arching stained glass that surrounded them.

She pressed one hand to his shirt, but could feel nothing with the thick fabric in the way. She unbuttoned the first two buttons, hands shaking, then two more, and slipped one trembling hand inside his shirt. Her fingers grazed his chest, and she felt it - the dull thud of a heartbeat against his chest. His eyes shot open, twinkling merrily, as he grabbed onto her hand, keeping in pinned to his cool, hard chest.

"If you wanted to feel me up, all you had to do was say so. And you really don't have to get all emotional about it." He smirked, sitting up, their faces inches apart, her hand still to his chest. Elsa's face burned as she jerked to get away, tumbling backwards in the process. She fell squat on her butt. Reaching over, she grabbed the book, and slammed it into the side of Jack's head. He laughed as the book bounced right off, taking it from Elsa's hands as rage replaced the fear in her heart.

"GOD-DAMNIT JACK FROST!" She screamed. "I though you were dead! Why didn't you open your eyes?!" Her own baby blues flashes with anger as frost formed on the floor around them.

"You never said please." He rubbed his head.

"UGH!" She slammed her fists onto his chest. He stumbled backwards, but caught himself before he fell.

"Take a breather, your Majesty." He laughed, looking over the book in his hands. "'_The_ _Species_ _of_ _Petra'_? Is it any good?"

Elsa stood, looking over Jack in complete disbelief. Only a minute ago, this man had pretended to be dead. Now here he was, acting as if nothing had even happened. "It's fine." Elsa said coldly. "Read it if you want. I'll see you at dinner." She stormed off before Jack could say another word.

"Elsa!" He called after her as she started down the spiral staircase. "I'm sorr-" She slammed the door at the bottom of the staircase behind her.

...

That night, Elsa sat on her bed, feeling like a small child. Maximus walked around the room, packing up his belongings.

"You're sure you have to go home _tonight_?" She said in a soft voice, her white hair shining in the candlelight.

He sighed, walking over, and taking her face in his hands. "I told you Elsa, my father is ailing, and my kingdom is receiving threats of war. I need to return as soon as possible. I'm sorry, love." He kissed her slowly, with growing intensity. She peered around him, at his almost packed suitcase.

Breaking away momentarily, she breathed out, "Have time for a break?" He laughed, falling down onto the bed next to her and touching their lips together.

* * *

**Oooooh getting frisky, little Elsa. Sorry guys, my Latin is a little rusty. (Just kidding, I used google translate, although I DID take Latin for two years.) Things are definitely heating up for Jack and Elsa, and it isn't just because they're being targeted by fire children. I'll give ya'll a hint - that book is important. Thank you sososoososososo much for reading, and please feel free to leave me a review - every time a person leaves a review, a fairy is born. Until the next chapter, my lovelies!**


	13. A Tale of Two Species

**Sorry for not updating lovelies - I've been in Austria, which, by the way, is absolutely fantastically amazing in every single way EVER, but, Holy crap. THIRTY THOUSAND VIEWS. THIRTY THOUSAND. That... just blows my mind. May I also add that we hit ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY EIGHT REVIEWS. I couldn't even... I can't even fathom those numbers, lovelies. When we hit that number, shortly after I posted the 11th chapter, and I screamed so loud my mom thought I was being murdered and I got in a lot of trouble. AND, WE NOW HAVE AN AMAZING COVER PHOTO FOR THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS, done by the ever so lovely, and very appropriately named, loveisanopenfridge! Thank you my dear, I appreciate this so much! Since a few people have sent me cover photos, I'm planning on changing them out every so often :) So don't fret, because your artwork WILL be displayed! So, to both celebrate this awesome moment, and apologize for the lack of chapter (eheh sorry) I present to you, my lovelies, a 5,000 word chapter of "Falling Like a Snowflake". Enjoy!**

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Jack slammed the book down on Elsa's desk, his eyes full of frustration.

"I'm telling you Elsa, this book isn't a myth. It's descriptions of the people fit the prisoners perfectly!" He pressed.

Elsa groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. For the last half an hour, Jack had attempted to convince her that the myths in "_The Species of Petra_" were real. While her favorite books were mythology themed, she had known from a young age that they were just that - myths. Not real, completely fictional - stories to explain that, which in ancient times, couldn't be explained.

"Elsa, please, would you just take the time to read the book?" Jack sighed, slumping down in a chair by Elsa's fire. The office was warm and a little stuffy, and he felt sleepy.

"I will, once I finish reading and responding to these letters, Jack. Leave me be for now." Elsa huffed while she tore open a creamy envelope.

"Elsa," Dylan piped up from his chair next to Jack's. A pile of letters sat, opened, at his feet. He shuffled through the papers in his hand, selecting one which was stained lightly blue. The paper looked thick and formal, while the script was loopy and calligraphic. "Take a look."

Elsa reached over and grabbed the letter with a thin hand. She peered over the paper, casting a glance at a crest stamped in the corner, as well as signatures scrawled, seemingly hastily, along the bottom.

_The Pact of Glacia, ruled by her Majesty Queen Cecilie and King Aquilo, requests council with her Royal Highness, Queen Elsa of Arendelle. Prompt response to this request would be highly appreciated._

"That's all?" Elsa flipped over the paper, checking for more writing. "Pact of Glacia?" She looked up at Dylan and Jack. "Since when is a Kingdom referred to as a pact?"

Dylan shrugged, while Jack extended a hand for the paper. Elsa handed it too him, and watched as his eyes scrutinized the crest.

"The name Pact of Glacia doesn't sound familiar, but that crest - well, I've certainly seen it before. This is one of my kingdom's allies." His eyes wound up to meet Elsa's, while his mouth remained thin and tight.

Elsa pondered over the name Cecilie for a moment. She was almost certain she'd heard of it before. "Jack..." she said slowly, as she reached for a slip of paper and a quill, "Fetch the guestbook of the wedding, if you would?" Her mind buzzed as the quill slid over the paper, and she wrote her response.

...

Late that night, Elsa sat in her bedroom, "_The Species of Petra_" sitting on her silk covers a foot away. She let her eyes rest on it. No matter what she did, she wasn't able to bring herself to finish the book. Her mind roared.

Why couldn't she keep reading? Was she too upset with Jack? Too upset with herself? Too upset about - well, whatever she could be upset about? Or was she...

Afraid?

No. No, she couldn't be afraid - it was merely a myth. A story told to children to entertain them. Nothing in there would change her life. What had she read when she was waiting for Jack to wake up? The Ignus... The Glaciem? The Fire and Ice. How ridiculous, it seemed, to her, that she even considered these things to be a reality. It seemed like a fool's tale, a fairy tale epic. It seemed unreal.

And anyways, what did she have to be afraid of? The book couldn't hurt her. It was paper bound in hard material. The only way it could hurt her was if someone had smacked her with it - and nobody was around to do that. The only physical damage she could do to herself was if she gave herself a paper cut. Was she nervous to find out what the prisoners were? No, that didn't seem correct either.

A soft layer of frost clawed its way up her window as she sunk deeper and deeper into her thoughts. The chill in her room thickened, and her covers hardened in the cold. She reached over, finally, picking up the book in her slender hands, and propped it open. She began to read from the beginning.

_Long ago, in a freshly formed world, only light existed. The light shone where and when it could, and when it couldn't there was a new thing - Dark. This was the first balance. The second occurred when the light became to powerful, and the dark shone over new the churning seas. Fire was birthed, as was ice. These two balances existed in harmony, as the freshly born world aged, shaped by harmony, and life appeared. It began small, and began to grow bigger, this life, until humans were created._

_Humans were always curious creatures, dabbling in that which they shouldn't. They attempted to spin the balance, and tip the scales. More fire, less ice - More ice, less fire. The third balance was created._

_The Ignus and The Glaciem._

_This balance was like no other. This balance was the only balance that could fight itself. Humans were not strong enough to join this balance's battle - any that veered into it's disastrous path was obliterated.  
_

The writing ended there. At least, what Elsa could see of it. The ink splotched and faded off, until the words were unreadable. Elsa flipped forward a few pages, only to find a detailed illustration of a man that seemed to be chiseled from snow itself. The colors were vibrant in the illustration, his ice-blue eyes popping off the page. His skin was a creamy white, his hair a long, ruffled mane of icy strings. His jawline was harshly cut, but softened by what appeared to be a scruff of a beard. His nose, which was small and slightly upturned, had a splatter of barely-there freckles splayed across it - much like, it seemed, her's and Jack's.

The man's clothing, however, was war-like. A navy cloak swathed his shoulders, and hung over a white chest plate and gray chaps. The tunic and the edges of his cloak had burn marks strewn across them. A longbow was strapped to his back, along with a sheath of icy-tipped arrows, although both appeared to be unused. His feet were covered in leather shoes. His hands sat slightly raised in front of his chest, his long and thin fingers splayed... and a soft blue glow emitting from them.

Elsa froze, heart pounding, while frost shot up the windows and snuffed out the crackling fire in the hearth. Her eyes widened, a stone sinking in her stomach, as her gaze locked on the light seeping through the drawing's pale fingers. She leveled her breathing, closing her eyes hard, and felt the frost retract from the room. She flipped to the next page, and attempted to make out the words.

'Ice was their... Ignus attempt on... wiped out...' Elsa sighed, squinting hard in the candlelight. She gave up, and flipped to the next page in frustration. The top of it read "Glaciem Celebrations"

_The funerals of The Glaciem were a large event. The bodies of the deceased were cocooned in water, in the coldest of lakes, then frozen until they were past the point of ever being thawed. The bodies were then sunk to the bottom of the lake, while the top was covered by a sheen of ice. These typically mass burials were commonly attended by the entire kingdom. After the lake was thickly frozen, rituals of mass prayer occurred onto the top of the ice. These rituals typically lasted hours, and were followed by feasting and draping the kingdom in black silks and leathers. Families of the deceased were expected to wear black caps or rings for up to a year after the rituals. These funerals typically occurred on the last day of every other month, with the silks being removed by the end of the first day of each new month following. The dead were typically kept in the lakes until the freezing. Deaths of commanders, lords, ladies, and those of high power, however, were mourned for precisely a week before the silks were taken down, while deaths of royals were mourned, depending on the success of the ruler, for up to two months. _

_Weddings of the Glaciem were considered jovial affairs, typically occurring in either the beginning of the winter or the end, when the first buds of spring were poking through the frozen ground. Brides were swathed in the whitest of silks, while men wore thick, white battle leathers and long white cloaks, inscribed with runes of prosperity and fortune. Cloaks were typically passed down through generations, and were unique to each man, much as the bride's wedding bracelets, which were carved of the whitest silver or gold, and inscribed with the family name. Men of the Glaciem often took the wive's last names. Losing either of these objects resulted in deep shaming and often shunning by not only the family, but frequently entire communities. The wedding celebration would begin with the public declaration of love for the betrothed's partner, and lead onto the ceremonial ice lock w ich o cu red hen b t the w fe n h sb l d..._

Elsa huffed in frustration at the blurred and missing letters and slammed the book shut. She inhaled deeply, placing the book onto the bedside table and snuggling under the covers. She would work at this again in the morning. Until then, she had to get some rest. Sleep overwhelmed her, and dreams of fire and ice haunted her.

...

"I... I will never..." Egan spat out the blood pooling inside his mouth. "I will never tell you of my master's plan. May you first bring death upon me." He smiled, blood dripping from his sharp canines.

The guard once again raised his club, but Jack held out a hand to stop him.

"Your efforts have so far proved fruitless, so why do you continue to beat the boy?" Jack sent the guard a scowl, before he kneeled down to face him, locking his ice blue eyes to his and grasping his chin with a cold hand. The boy attempted to meet Jack's harsh gaze, but his eyes flickered and faltered. When Elsa had smacked him with the ice, he had lost a lot of his strength. He still, however, managed the same smirking, blood-drenched grin.

"Who is your master?"

The boy smirked. "Shouldn't it be obvious by now, King Frost?" Jacks lips pursed, and he stood. Striding out of the dungeon, he turned to look at the boy.

"You will die if you don't provide us with evidence."

"Let it be so." The boy grinned, then quickly summoned a weak fireball, flicking it at Jack's head. He ducked, then slammed the door behind him in anger.

...

"Queen Elsa. Your Majesty, a, uh, delivery has occurred." Rune looked sheepish, and a little frightened.

Elsa stood from her desk, where she had been looking over law proposals all morning. She strode from behind her desk, following Rune out to the courtyard, where a crowd of palace guards, soldiers, and maids stood overlooking what appeared to be a large crate. Elsa quickened her pace, her dark turquoise gown streaming behind her. She pushed the crowd apart gently, peering over the edges, and felt her heart patter. For in the crate, sat a teenager.

The girl looked to be about fifteen. She had streaming strawberry blonde hair, which framed a soft face filled with pale freckles that dotted a small button nose. Her eyes were large and deep blue, framed with thick lashes and containing the wisdom of someone far her senior. She was peering around the circle of folk, a soft smile covering red lips. Elsa looked down in shock at the girl, who turned to smile at her in response.

"Adon." The girl mumbled, standing up shakily, looking up at Elsa.

"Pardon?" Elsa responded, still a bit aghast by the girl.

"Well, it stands for Belladonna, but most call me Adon. I think." Her voice was soft and mild, and her eyes had a cloud of confusion and fear. She faced Elsa, and Elsa took in her attire. Her skin, nails, and hair were well taken care of, however, her clothing resembled that of the poorest of slaves. A tattered beige dress hung down to her ankles, so long it brushed the cobble in the courtyard. A belt of rope tightened the smock at her waist, giving it some form. The dress itself had long tattered half-sleeves. Her feet were bare. She looked food-deprived, and exhausted. Cords of rope sat, frayed to the breaking point in the crate. Red rope burns hung around her ankles and wrists.

"Why..." Elsa trailed off, barely noticing Jack's approach behind her. She peered around, gaze locking on Rune. "Was she BOUND and SEALED in the crate?" Elsa said, shocked. Rune nodded. "Why are you here, Adon?" Elsa asked.

The girl shrugged, weakly. "I'm not quite sure, to be honest. I don't remember much. Only being hit over the head, forced into these, bound and locked in that crate for three days." Her eyes shifted. She had lied.

"Could someone get Adon some water, and perhaps some bread?" She turned back to Adon. "Where are you from, girl?"

Adon was about to say something, but her mouth froze in place, then twisted in confusion. "I... I don't remember."

"Elsa!" Called a guard, passing her a creamy piece of card stock. She took it into her hands, unfolding it and letting her gaze flick across the scratchy scrawl.

_Enjoy her as much as I did. - H.G. _

Jack sucked in a sharp breath behind her, then mumbled into Elsa's ear, "I think she might have been a sex slave." Elsa repressed the shiver about to run up her spine from both Jack's rumbling voice ringing in her eardrum and the thought of this gentle girl being subjected to such horrors. She peered up at the girl, and offered her a warm smile.

"Welcome to Arendelle, Belladonna."

...

After clothing Belladonna, giving her a guest room and some goulash, Elsa had retreated to her bedroom with Jack and Dylan in tow, to decipher the book once and for all.

After settling on the bed, Jack took the book in his slender fingers, flipping to a drawing much like the Glaciem member. He extended the book to Elsa, his eyes thick with worry. She took it into her hands, and let her eyes run over the image. This man was covered in thick brown, burgundy, and red leathers, very similar to the Glaciem's outfit. He was swathed in a burgundy battle-cape, a sword sheathed at his side. The cape was covered in frost around the edges. Underneath it sat a brown chest plate, which hung over black pants. His leather shoes were surrounded by ice. She let her gaze travel up to his tanned face, which had severe edges accompanied by a scraggly scruff that did nothing to soften them. Thin lips hung under a defined nose, which were framed by red-ringed irises swathed in a forest green. Elsa let out a moan of despair, shoving the book away, and burying her face in her hands.

"This is not real." She whispered, icy tendrils snaking out onto the bedsheets and twining with Jack and Dylan's legs.

"Els..." Dylan began, reaching for her hand. She didn't move, only mumbling to herself in an attempt to calm down.

"Conceal, don't feel. Don't feel. Control it." She whispered, frost traveling at the windows. Her heart was pounding so hard it seemed to make the bedsheets quiver. She choked back a sob, and let her fingers quiver.

"Elsa, please." Jack's rumble almost broke through her fear, but it only dented it. She gulped quivering breaths, bundling her hands into fists.

"Control it. CONTROL it." Elsa voice rose an octave, as her heart beat, finally, began to slow. She took more shuddering breaths before opening her eyes and dropping her fists, the ice pulling back towards her.

"Els..." Dylan said, taking her hand into his and smiling warmly, "You're going to be just fine, because Jack and I will help you every step of the way. We're going to figure this out. I swear."

Elsa nodded shakily, her eyes locked onto those in the illustration before her. They needed to keep reading.

"Let's... Let's read a bit, shall we?" She said softly, pushing the book into Dylan's hands. He took it, flipping it open, reading headings aloud as he went along.

"Glaciem Celebrations..." He stated

"Already read it." Elsa said, eyes locked on her folded hands in her lap.

"Right... Traditional foods...? No, boring." He countered himself, flipping onwards. "Uhh, 'Virtues, Characteristics, and Beliefs of the Glaciem'?"

"Sure." Elsa nodded, "Lets do that."

"Right then." Dylan cleared his throat as Elsa settled back into her bed, arms encasing a pillow, eyes closed. He began.

"The Glaciem were often considered to be much more peaceful in comparison to the Ignus. However, in times of war, The Glaciem were fierce fighters, typically settling for their powers or archery. The Glaciem took on a golden rule of 'Only swing when another has swung.' This rule was a creed of their's, and those who struck first were considered violent and were immediately declared outcasts. The Glaciem valued patience and wisdom, and those with these characteristics were often boosted to high power."

Jack cut Dylan off, speaking slowly.

"So clearly, those invaders were of The Ignus, or some branch of it. As was Gregory. But why target Elsa and I?" His eyes were narrow in thought, but Elsa could practically hear the gears in his head as they whirred and churned.

A knock sounded at Elsa's door. She hopped off the bed and crossed the room, opening it to find Belladonna, looking lovely in a soft violet gown.

"Your Majesty." Belladonna curtsied.

"Adon." Elsa smiled warmly, taking a fair hand and pulling her in, "Come in, and call me Elsa."

Adon settled on Elsa's large bed with Jack and Dylan, peering over at the book inquisitively.

"_'The Species of Petra?'_" Bella smiled, looking down at the tome, "My mother used to read the myths and war stories to me before I went to sleep."

Jack's eyes shot up, the gears in his head coming to a harsh stop. "What kinds of myths and war stories...? Could you, maybe, summarize them...?"

Belladonna's eyes lit up. "Of course!"

...

**(A/N: I'm so sorry for all the separation points in this chapter, a lot of things needed to be said and done. Belladonna's nickname is pronounced Ay-don. Weird nickname, I know... Thank you for keeping up with my ADHD)**

By the time Belladonna had finished her tales, the sky was turning purple and stars were shooting up. Elsa, Dylan, and Jack had all sat and listened, bewitched by the tales. The stories were full of fighting and romance, of frozen landscapes, and, coincidentally enough, frozen hearts. Elsa had fallen in love with several of the characters of Belladonna's tales.

"And that's barely a third of them." Adon explained, swinging off Elsa's bed with a smile on her face. "If you would be so kind as to pardon me, your majesties, I'd like to turn in for the night."

"No dinner?" Elsa asked, as they all followed Adon out of her room.

"No, I'm actually quite full. I ate three bowls of goulash." She laughed, waved goodnight, and headed off to one of the chambers.

As they all settled down for dinner, Jack asked Elsa, softly, "Would you accompany me on a walk tonight?"

She nodded, but kept her face turned down to her stew. She couldn't let anything happen tonight. Maximus would be returning home in a weeks time, and soon Anna and Kristoff would be home as well. They'd be curious as to Jack's return. At any rate, Anna would skin him alive regardless, and Kristoff would probably break his neck, among other parts of his body. Elsa finished the stew well after Dylan had finished his and excused himself to his chamber. Jack began to walk out of the room, and Elsa followed. They headed out back to the gardens, the flowers slightly recovering from the intense heat of the day, the warmth of the night lacing in between their fingers and crawling up the backs of their necks. Above them, stars and a full moon brightly lit their path as they strolled along, chatting casually about Adon.

"How long do you plan to keep her in Arendelle?" Jack asked, keeping his eyes on the path before them.

"As long as it takes for her to be recovered. She's really a lovely girl, so gracious and kind. I see a lot of Anna in her, minus the clumsiness and the rash thinking."

Jack laughed at that, stopped walking near to a rather steep hill which led down to a small brook, and stared up at the sky. Elsa halted next to him, rather quickly, so her dress swung slightly forward. The smells of flowers tickled their noses and entwined itself with their hair.

"It's so beautiful tonight." Elsa smiled, taking in the night sky.

"Everything is beautiful tonight. Everything." Jack slightly enunciated 'Everything', which caused Elsa to cast a glance at him - he was staring straight at her. Her heart skipped a beat. Why did she have to feel this way about him? Maximus was the one she loved - not Jack. At least, the one she should-

'_No_.' Elsa told herself, eyes downcast as she shuffled slightly away. She wasn't aloud to feel these things. She love Maximus. That was that.

"Elsa..." Jack turned towards her and stepped closer. She turned around so her back faced the brook, and came face to chest with Jack, who was significantly taller than her. He had gained some shoulder girth, she realized, as her eyes swept up to his face. Had he begun to work out more often? She smiled politely.

"Yes, Jack?"

"I've been meaning to talk to you about this for a while. About why I..." He stopped, and Elsa's eyes flicked down. That's when she noticed his hand inching towards hers. Quickly, she jerked it back and took a step back that was a bit too large. She wavered and wobbled, before tumbling down the hill. She heard Jack's gasp followed by laughter as her body hit the foot deep water, drenching her to the bone. She lay there momentarily, a bit stunned by her fall and the icy cold water, and pushed herself up, coughing. Jack stood next to her, laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face. Frustrated, Elsa grabbed on his leg and yanked hard. He yelped as he slipped in next to her, soaking his pants. She humphed and stood to go, before being pulled back down by Jack. She sent a splash of water his way, only to be met with a splash twice as big. Finally, not being able to take it anymore, she froze the water. around him. He looked at her, and raised an eyebrow.

"Have you forgotten?" He asked, the ice cracking and melting away around him. He laughed triumphantly as Elsa's face twisted into a scowl. Elsa stood to go but found her dress to be caught on something. She looked down, but even in the bright of the moon, she couldn't see what. She tugged on the gown, yanking and pulling, until she heard a rip, and stumbled backward - but the rip continued. With a loud yelp, she fell back-first into the water as the entire bottom half of her dress tore off. She sat, stunned for a moment, before quickly sitting up, gathering her bearings, and scooting over so the torn off dress bottom could cover her underwear. Jack raised an eyebrow and his trademark smirk flashed across his face. The smile that made Elsa's heart stop and her eyes glaze.

"First, you feel me up, and then, you flash me your undies. Am I seeing subliminal messaging here, Elsa?" His smirked widened as her burning face flashed with levels of red she couldn't even believe could exist on a human face.

"I most certainly... UGH!" She spluttered, as she felt wind push on her back. The grass nearby her began to frost over. "Really? Really? WIND? You dirty little prick!" She shouted, attempting to tug the torn clothing article away from whatever was holding it.

"I really hate you, Jack Frost." She grunted, as the skirt finally tore free, making a jagged high-low effect. Jack laughed.

"And I love you, Elsa." He smirked, but Elsa saw his eyes read a different emotion. Huffing in annoyance, she yanked the skirt on and climbed out of the water, and up onto the hill. She stomped angrily back towards the palace and left Jack to freeze in the icy waters below.

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**FINALLY DONE. I really wanted to make this chapter long for you guys, so I spent a long time working on it (Because I love you all soooo much.) Thank you all sososossoossos much for reading. Please remember to leave a review. Remember, every review gets Jack and Elsa closer to BABYMAKIN. Just kidding. But seriously, review it. Until next chapter, my lovelies!**


	14. Arrival

**Hello, my lovelies! It's come to my attention that certain people don't exactly appreciate the word lovelies - So I will do absolutely everything in my power to use it as FREQUENTLY as possible! Just kidding. Although the fact is that I refer to my readers as "lovelies" because it's a term to signify adoration. So, the fact that this apparently "ruins the story" for certain people is a bit strange. Yet, I digress - It also had been brought to my attention that I've been using the improper version of "to" and "too". Funny story about that - I used "tooo" or just the letter "t" all the way up until fourth grade to spite my teachers. I did not like school. So if I add an extra 'o', or forget one, it's simply old habits resurfacing, which I apologize for in advance. As always, I do hope you enjoy this chapter, and please feel free to leave a review. Every review gives Olaf one more snowflake for his personal flurry.**

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The rather prompt arrival of The Pact of Glacia to Arendelle took the town by storm, sending everyone at the castle into a rushed frenzy to prepare for the guests. Banners featuring the crest of The Pact were hung in the palace's great hall to honor the impending guests, and, after doing some careful research, an entire banquet was prepared featuring both Arendelle and Glacia's traditional foods. Dylan returned home to his kingdom to settle some business with another land, leaving yet another room open and a space in Elsa's heart as she waved goodbye to one of her closest friends from the dock. He had pecked her on the cheek, promising to return soon. He then ran to the other side of his ship, laughing and waving as Anna and Kristoff pulled into the dock beside his.

Anna and Kristoff had returned from their honeymoon, true, however, they had not broken out of it yet, so it seemed. The two were giggly and happy, almost to the point where it became annoying for Elsa. They would sit at supper, giggling and talking happily while Elsa and Jack were left to sit and chat. It would, most of the time, feel like a dinner date with Jack, which made Elsa not only extremely uncomfortable, but also, on occasion, quite awkward. And yet, every time Elsa looked at Jack, something bubbled and rolled in her stomach. She would force these feelings down, but his rumbling voice would stir them up once again. It drove her mad. She instead would turn away and try not to talk to him that often, going back to planning or the occasional mythology book.

With the guests, Elsa had left "The Species of Petra" undisturbed in a drawer near her bed, unwilling to return to it and it's uncomfortable truths. The prisoners below, when interrogated about the information in the book, had gone wild-eyed and into a frenzy. They would thrash, bite, and rip at their chains. When that didn't work, they often resorted to attempting to remove limbs to escape. It was not only terrifying to watch, but horrible to listen to. As they tore at their own flesh with their teeth, they let out guttural moans and screams. One man had almost succeeded, but was stopped by a guard and stitched up. The prisoner's laughter grew maniacal, their smiles crazed, and their eyes burst with flame and terrifying, awful power.

Elsa sat, that day, in the library. It was overwhelmingly warm, to the point where Elsa's pale eyelids had been drooping in the sleepy haze. Her eyes scraped at the page of the book in her hands, in a desperate attempt to down information before sleep overwhelmed her. Behind her, Anna was listening to Adon, who was speaking rather loudly and dramatically. Her voice was the only thing keeping Elsa tethered to this side of consciousness.

"The whole Kingdom?!" Anna exclaimed in disbelief, her eyes as wide as a child's. Her slightly freckled arms were hugging an overstuff pillow so tightly to her chest it looked as if it was about to burst. For the last half an hour, Adon had lured Anna in with her tales of the Ignus and Glacia. Elsa had yet to tell Anna about the revelations that had occurred. She wasn't so sure she believed them herself.

Adon nodded, her gaze locked onto Anna's. "Every last home was burnt to a crisp, unrecognizable. On top of the ashes stood one man, his clothes rippling in tattered shreds, eyes like fire that danced in the wind."

"King Bellevier." Anna wheezed out, eyes to the point where they might pop out of her head.

"Dear God, Adon, would you give her a break?" Elsa laughed, closing the book she held in her hands and stretching like a cat. "She might just drop dead of a heart attack right there."

Adon laughed at this, leaning back, the magical spell of the story being slowly ripped apart. Anna's eyes, while still slightly wide, began to lose that child-like obsession with the story and slip back into reality.

"What a story..." She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing at them with the bottom of her palms. So she was tired too.

Elsa was about to stand up and place her book back when the room temperature dropped a couple degrees - then a few more. She felt more comfortable in this cold environment, but was still a bit confused. She let her eyes shift to the newly repaired windows, which showing no signs of draft. Her head rotated to the door, which shuddered slightly before bursting open to reveal Kristoff and Jack, who strode into the room laughing and talking as if they were old friends. At first, Jack's return had deeply angered Anna and Kristoff, to the point where Anna almost strangled him. This, of course, didn't happen, but it was still a very real threat. While Kristoff had been more open to Jack's arrival, Anna was weary of him, yet kept on a friendly and playful front.

"Ladies." Kristoff smiled, as Olaf slid in behind him, sidling up next to Elsa and curling up into her leg. Anna grinned at Kristoff, wrapping her hands around his neck and pecking him on the lips. Jack looked moodier than usual today, in a burgundy dress shirt and black pants. The dark color on his fair skin made it shine wildly. His eyes, however, twinkling brightly as always, causing the contrast to be even more sharp.

"Watchya readin'?" Olaf asked, snatching up Elsa's book, holding it by one cover as the pages all flopped to the other side. "Wait." Olaf stopped himself, staring at the book intensely, as the others in the room stared at him expectantly. He let out a giggle. "I can't read." He closed the book, the sat back down next to Elsa. She chuckled, patting him on the head and taking the book from him, cradling it in her lap. It sat there, surrounded by swathes of lilac purple.

As Kristoff joined into conversation with Anna and Adon, Jack strode over to Elsa, taking the book from her lap and into his hands flipping through the pages, eyebrows raised skeptically as he skimmed the story. Elsa frowned.

"What?" She jabbed, extending pale fingers for the book. He tugged it away, tutting, eyes sparkling as he laughed.

"Really Elsa? Mythology and fairy tales again?" He sighed, looking over the story. "Hero sees maiden, hero likes maiden. Maiden does something stupid, then gets carried off. Hero rescues maiden. Saves the day. Then they kiss and make up, make lots of babies and live happily ever after." He smirked, closing it, and handing it back to her. "Sorry if I spoiled it for you."

Elsa's face twisted into a deeper frown. "For your information," She began, standing up to put the book away, "That's a translated version of Ovid's _Metamorphoses_. I was reading about Icarus, and his flight to escape Crete. It has no kissing and making up or..." She stumbled for the proper wording, before spitting out awkwardly, "making of babies." She turned to Jack, eyes flashing slightly. "And forgive me for these following words, Jack, but in all honesty, you have no right-"

"No right to what? Judge you upon the fact that all you do is rule your palace from the inside, burying yourself in mythology when you could be seeing the world?" He exclaimed, eyes sparking. "The gates may be opened to the outside world, Elsa, but are you?"

That struck a nerve. "Open to the outside world?" She hissed, frost beginning to seep onto the floor. Kristoff, Adon, and Anna all rapidly made their way to the door and down the staircase, thinking it would be of best interest to leave Jack and Elsa to brawl. "How can you say that when all you do is keep secrets and abandon people for months on end!?"

"You do realize you literally kept a secret from the entire kingdom, including your only sister, for practically 20 years, right?" He laughed coldly. Wind began to cause the books laying ajar on the floor to open and their pages to flip.

Elsa's anger broiled and bubbled in her stomach. "You do realize what a complete and utter jack-ass you are, right?" She shot back, before stopping, and adding her own cold chuckle to the mix. "Hey. Jack, ass. Jack-ass. It's like the name was made for you or something."

"Oh, what a mature observation." His eyes rolled in their sockets, as her face flushed slightly.

"Well, you were the one to started this." She sang, turning away from him to gather up the rapidly flipping books.

"Me?" He cried in disbelief, eyes wide. "You're kidding, right?"

She said nothing as frost continued to crawl up the windows and spread around the ground at her feet. Jack took hold of her arm and spun her around, so they stood face to face. He stood over her, eyes downcast onto her and sucking her in. Her breath caught in her throat, as the soft words drifted from his pale lips.

"If you have an issue with me, Elsa, just say it. We'll talk it out, instead of acting like kids." Her eyes locked on his, and for a tense moment, the wind stopped howling and the ice ceased to spread. For a tense moment, there was nothing but silence, and the pound of Elsa's heart on her ribcage. For a tense moment, Elsa's eyes flicked down to Jack's lips, and a memory bubbled to surface in her head - the memory of a certain kiss in a hot forest not long ago that sent everything within a 10 meter radius around them slathered in ice and snow. For a tense moment, Jack's eyes flicked down as well, thee memory tearing through the events of the past two months. Yes. The kiss.

The tense moment was shattered when Elsa turned on her heel, striding out of the library. The wind that had frozen in the air seemed to drop to the floor, while the frost cracked and shattered and melted away, until there was nothing but a few puddles of water and emptiness.

...

Elsa stood by the gates later that day, watching as the royal family of the Pact of Glacia strode towards the courtyard with a meaningful purpose. As they swiftly neared Elsa, more and more details became apparent as she quickly analyzed the approaching family, exchanging hushed observations with Anna.

"There's Cecilie," Elsa indicated with a flick of her head, "And her daughter Eira. They both were at your wedding." Elsa observed the mother and daughter duo. Eira remained stuck to her mother's side, her ice blonde hair longer than it had been two and a half weeks ago. They both had the same small, slightly upturned button nose, along with a smattering of pale freckles. Their ice blue eyes shot out of their pale faces, visible from even Elsa's distance from them. As they got closer, Elsa picked out the details of their outfits. Tiny Eira was swathed in a beautiful baby blue dress that came to just a few inches above her knees, and puffed out from her hips in a ballerina-like style. White lace covered the bodice, which had corset-like ties with white strings along the back, which Elsa picked out when Eira whipped around to say something to her father. White slippers with black silk strings tied themselves up to her visible knees. Very ballerina-like, but the black silk threw her off slightly. It was a distinguished outfit for such a small girl. Nevertheless, Elsa could definitely picture herself dressing her own daughter in something similar. Cecilie, however, wore a navy blue dress that hung to the freshly washed cobble. The dress itself was very beautiful. A navy blue open robe parted at her breasts to hint at her petticoat, and split open wider at the hips to reveal the thin black petticoat. White flowers were embroidered along the open robe and contrasted wonderfully with the navy train of the dress was short, so short that it only hung to a bit lower than the hem of the dress itself. Her white hair was situated in a crown that encircled the top of her head.

Anna's mouth twisted into a line. "I don't remember them being there."

"That's probably because you drank a bit too much champagne, dear." Elsa mused as she took in who she could only assume to be King Aquilo. The King certainly had a regal air about him, but it was a kind one - not one of pompous arrogance, like a few of the kings she'd met. He carried himself with respect, his head of blonde locks held high. Wise blue eyes hung over a freckled nose, which, in turn, hung over thin lips. A scruff of well-kept beard clung to his jawline. He too, was swathed in navy, but instead had a navy jacket topped with black shoulder tassles. His right breast pocket was swathed in medals of all sorts, which hung dutifully above a white belt, secured with a gold buckle. Simple black suit pants and shoes took over from there.

"Who's that?" Anna asked, nodding her head a bit unsubtly at the young man standing slightly behind King Aquilo, dressed in similar wear to him, only much less decorated. He looked to be about Adon's age, maybe older, and bore a striking resemblance to both the King and Queen.

"The Prince." Elsa nodded, without a doubt. As Eira approached, she caught a glimpse of Elsa and hurried over, coming to a quick stop in front of her and curtsying in an impressive manner for what Elsa presumed to be a six or seven year old. Elsa laughed, curtsying back.

"Princess Eira, I'm delighted by your arrival to Arendelle. This is my sister, Princess Anna." Anna curtsied towards Eira, who bashfully curtsied back, a pink blush rising on her pale cheeks. Cecilie, having finally caught up, embraced Elsa in a hug. She hugged back, smiling, although the custom of hugging a person when you've merely exchanged casualties and a letter or two was a little alien to her.

"Do forgive Eira for that - she was simply so excited to see you again. She truly idolizes you." Cecilie chimed in her odd accent. "I don't believe we even fully met on your wedding day, Princess Anna." Cecilie curtsied towards her. "Queen Cecilie of the Pact of Glacia."

Anna curtsied back as the King and the teenager approached. As he stopped in front of them, Elsa could confirm he was the son of the royal couple. Although he was much more handsome than his father. A soft smirk tugged at Elsa's lips - she'd have to tell Adon.

"Your Majesty." Elsa curtsied deeply. He took her hand in his, pecking it. His beard tickled it slightly as his eyes, through white as ice, sparkled with warmth.

"Please, call me Aquilo. May I present my son," his hand released Elsa's and swerved to indicate the boy, "Crown Prince Orion." The prince dipped his head in a bow like stance.

"It is an honor, Aquilo and Cecilie, to have you in Arendelle. I trust we can discuss why you're here in the morning, but as for now..." Elsa smiled, taking Eira's small hand, "Let's eat."

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**Woooo, all done with that one. Sorry, it's a bit of a boring chapter, I know, but it has to be done. I threw in a lil bit of tension between Jack and Elsa because I know you guys are all dying for them to just get in each other's pants already. So you're welcome. **

**I recently have become... more than obsessed with Sherlock. My god is it just an amazing show. Like, OH MY GOD. I'm gonna spare you from my dramatic speech about how much I love it, but I've been reading some of the fics lately, and, holy shit, are they really good. They're amazing! So take some time to check some of those out, probably while I'm writing my next chapter. As always, thank you sososoosoososo much for reading, and pretty please leave a review because we definitely want Olaf to live. **

**Speaking of reviews... When we hit 200 reviews, I'm going to go ahead and give you guys a treat. Maybe it'll be an Ignus/Glaciem fairytale. Maybe it'll be Jack's POV of what happened when he was gone for those two months (because, as the story develops, you'll learn that a lot happened). So REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW, and, of course, Until next chapter, my lovelies!**


	15. Oh, Bite Me!

Dinner had been awkward. And that was putting it lightly.

After a long, _long, __**long**_ exchange of frivolous small talk, plus some very uncomfortable silences, Anna had, roughly, tried to switch the conversation subject to one of Glacia's history. This made Elsa shift in her seat and shoot Jack frantic glances. His face remained straight and calm, as a swift and sharp wind gust shot through the room and zeroed in on Queen Cecilie's cup of tea, tipping it and spilling the liquid everywhere. As they hastily patted the table with handkerchiefs and napkins, Anna and Elsa offered meek excuses such as 'a draft' and 'open doors'. Queen Cecilie had laughed it off, but looked skeptical. And, surprisingly, intrigued.

Not shockingly, conversations of pasts were swiftly dropped.

The next failed topic was of entertainment. They did manage a few minute conversation of music, but when the conversation shifted to books, the conversation took a turn for the worst. Elsa began to go on excitedly about her mythology books, intriguing both Cecilie and Aquilo, and almost slipped up when it came to "_The Species of Petra_". Jack sent her a sharp kick underneath the table, and she had jumped, both startled and enraged. Jack shot her a glance, then smiled at the King and Queen, going back to his stew.

Yes. Awkward barely covered it. An uncomfortable two hours led to rushed goodnights. After their guests had been swept into the rooms, Jack, Anna, Elsa, and Adon all sat to discuss the events of the evening. Adon would casually drift the conversation to the Prince, which would cause Elsa and Anna to exchange sharp, knowing glances. After she retired, Jack listened while Anna and Elsa covered the political aspects of the guests currently in their care. All in all, an uneventful night.

That morning, Elsa sat in the dining room, her silk-clad back to the door. The night had passed without even a glimpse of their guests, and she was more than fine with that. Anna sat to her left, tracing patterns along the carved mahogany table. She had been lost in thought the entire morning, her eyes flickering and meandering off of Elsa's whenever Elsa would try and talk to her. And now, they turned and watched as Cecilie swept into the room, looking very dainty in a soft, pink gown that flowed to her ankles.

"Good morning, Elsa, Anna." She nodded at the two of them in turn. "I see that King Jack is not among our breakfast group today?" She slid into a chair across the table from the girls.

"Well, he was supposed to be. I haven't seen him all morning." Elsa said, eyes locking with the Queen's raised eyebrow.

"You haven't?" She inquired, looking puzzled.

"No..." Elsa said, her brows sculpting to mirror Cecilie's. "Should I have?"

Cecilie laughed, still looking confused. "Well, I would assume, since you two are together."

Anna let out a snort of laughter, while Elsa felt heat scrape up the back of her neck. "No," She laughed awkwardly, "We're only -"

She was cut off by the feeling of a cool hand slipping into her's and the settlement of a tall figure into the chair to her right.

"The greatest couple to ever walk the face of this planet, clearly." Jack rumbled with laughter. Elsa quickly jerked her hand away, giving Jack's arm a hard smack. He winced in fake pain. Anger and embarrassment boiled in Elsa's stomach.

"We're only friends. And at the moment, I'm being generous with that term." She hissed, eyes locked on Jack's smirking face. "I do have a lovely boyfriend though," She said slowly, ripping her eyes from Jack's startling blue ones, and one again joining them with Cecilie's - which, it's worth mentioning, were almost identical. "Prince Maximus of Aslan."

Jack felt his heart twist in anger in his chest at the mention of that name. He instantly felt regretful - he had no feelings for Elsa. Their relationship was purely platonic. It had to be. For both his, and Elsa's safety. The last thing he wanted to do was break her heart again. The last time, their feelings had bubbled and sloshed all around, like a pot of water brought to a boil. To Jack, the water had sloshed over the second his lips touched hers as Gregory raced off into the distance. Too fast, much too fast.

Jack could handle not expressing feelings though. Ever since Jack was a child, he had observed all of his friends growing and maturing and falling in love. He, however, had tried to escape dates as frequently as his friends had pushed him into them. He had determined that, in reality, you never really could have enough bad dates. Besides all of that, he could truthfully say he had never experienced love for another person - other than of family and friends, of course. Crushes were a rarity, and had happened maybe once or twice in his short existence. Regardless of this, he had dated women previously - although it was strictly for political purposes. These women, typically ditzy princesses, were spoiled 'Daddy's' girls, who's intelligence was akin to that of a soap bubble. The girls typically 'popped' after a few months, when Jack hadn't proposed, or given them money, or the keys to the magical lands of faeries, or some ridiculous excuse of that sort. They never took risks, were terrified of horses, getting cold, or even touching water in some cases. But then, there was Elsa.

And she was different. Elsa was graceful and ladylike, but smart as a whip, even if she did bury herself in fantasies. She loved the cold, clearly, and thrived within it. She was also not afraid to get a bit violent, which was endearing in it's own way. She loved swimming, rode a horse like nobody else in the palace could, and, it seemed, had the voice of an angel. This was realized, of course, when Jack had lingered by Elsa's open window a few weeks before he "arrived back" in Arendelle. Her singing had cut through the night and swelled into his ears, making his heart dip and flutter, as absolutely ridiculous as that sounded. And, of course, she was strikingly beautiful, with hair made from spun silk, snow, and sunlight, and smile that could make your heart ache for-

Oh, now he was just being ridiculous. He was clearly just in need of some time with something different to occupy him. His thoughts drifted back to the table conversation, when his eyes snapped onto Rune, who was glaring from the head of the table at him expectantly.

"Welcome back to Arendelle, King Frost." He joked. "If you would be so kinda as to follow her Majesty, Queen Elsa and I into the dungeons, I would appreciate it."

Jack grinned sheepishly, standing up, and excusing himself from Queen Cecilie and Anna.

...

Elsa's gaze flicked down onto Egan's rust-brown smile. Dried blood dribbled down from the corners of his upturned lips, which moved and snapped hungrily, gurgles of noise filling the damp air of his cell. His eyes rolled and bucked in their sockets, as they locked on Elsa pacing the room, attempting to pull information from the boy. Her eyes, however, always managed to fall back to his arms, which were now torn up and covered in stitches. He had tried to bit his arms off, clearly. Some of the wounds were pulsing with infection, while others were scabbing healthily. His shackles still hung on his wrist, tightened more than ever, and biting into his circulation. His fingers would twitch occasionally, but that was the only part of the body he could, or would move.

"Egan, who is your employer?" Elsa's icy voice repeated the question. Egan did not respond, only let out a guttural giggle and lolled his head to rest upon his collarbones. He wasn't talking. Except for several insults when she and Jack had entered the room, of course. Elsa got closer.

"Egan." She repeated firmly. Behind her stood Rune and Jack. Rune was fidgeting nervously, while Jack stood still, his arms crossed over his chest, eyes analyzing the scenario. If worse came to worse, he would have to jump in and kill Egan. That much was simple.

"Yesssss?" Egan's voice hissed out, as he hacked and a small lump of something brown spewed from between his lips. Elsa flinched in disgust.

"Who, is, your, employer?" Elsa emphasized these words, as she took one step closer to the boy. He looked up at her and smiled, his fingers twitching in a come hither motion. She came closer, so close he could have held her hand. And he did just that. Rune braced himself, pulling out a sword, but Elsa stopped him with a flick of her pale hand.

"A kiss for the Queen." Quickly, he brought his hand up so Elsa's arm now hung a mere centimeters from his mouth. She braced in confusion, then watched as he sunk his teeth into her upper arm, flame whistling from his nose and lips. Flame seemed to shoot up her arm and claw at the balls of her feet. She let out a howl of pain, ripping the arm from his jaws, blood seeping down her arm steadily. Using her good hand, she encircled his neck and slammed his head back against the wall. Rune, looking momentarily confused by the action, snapped to attention and rushed forward, but the feral growl that rumbled from Elsa's chest stopped him in his tracks. Jack, however, hadn't even been phased by it. He had already made his way forward, as his pale fingers grasped Elsa's burned and bloodied arm.

"As you are our key informant, unfortunately," She hissed, her blue eyes narrowing, "I suppose I'll have to keep you alive after that." Her grip tightened on his neck, frost clawing along his tan skin. "However, do not think your actions will go unpunished. Prepare to be..." She drawled off for a moment, her eyes locking back onto his and a small smile tugging at the corner of her scowl. "_Uncomfortable_." Her voice snarled out as she smashed his head back onto the wall. Egan slumped forward, head slack. Ice began to crawl up his legs and arms, encasing his body in the thinnest sheen. Gently, Elsa extended her good hand to Rune, who handed her a dagger. She made a slight incision along his upper chest. After discarding the dagger by letting it fall to the floor, she touched her finger to the cut, and watched as his body jerked in unconscious.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked, his hand still near her blistering wound. His voice wavered slightly, as he felt an unfamiliar tug in his stomach. What was that? Was he feeling attraction to her from this? No, this was something else. This something pulled at him and clouded his vision. He did his best to repress the feeling, keeping his eyes locked on Egan.

"I'm chilling him from the inside. He'll remain alive - just very, very, _very_ cold." She frowned, pulling her finger back, and pulling her arm from Jack's with a hiss of pain. Her eyes never left Egan's form.

"Elsa, let me see your arm, please." He extended his hand. She huffed, extending it. She took the time to look at the wound herself. It looked, well, bad. Burns stretched the circumference of her arm, and surrounded deep teeth marks.

"Can we just clean it up and wrap it, please?" Her voice came out of her chest, sounding not weak, but exhausted. And she was - she was completely tired of this entire situation. Rune came over and picked up the dropped dagger, sheathing it and grabbing Elsa's good arm.

"Of course, your majesty. Please, if you would follow me..."

As they made their way up the stairs, Elsa tried to ignore the throbbing pain in her arm by spurting questions.

"Why would he refuse to tell us any information at all?" She rambled, "What is he afraid of? I mean, it's not like we haven't given him something to be afraid of because we definitely have, it's just he's retaining information and its getting to be rather bothersome. Honestly, the boy needs to gain some manners. Who taught him to act like that? His mother? Was his mother a bear?"

"Elsa." Jack chuckled, gently patting her shoulder. "Calm down. I'm sure Egan's mother was, indeed, not a bear. At this point, we cant even be sure Egan HAD a mother."

Elsa's face twisted in concentration, trying to jerk her thoughts away from the fact that Jack's hand had slipped from her shoulder and now rested on her upper back, guiding her gently. She tried, desperately, to picture Maximus's handsome face and have it block out the feelings she had for Jack. Instead, Jack's sharp jawline replaced it. She tried a different method. She quickened her footsteps, and pretended to get a shiver. The warmth of Jack's hand on her spine disappeared almost instantly. As they approached the medic room of the palace, Rune ushered them in, before stepping outside of the threshold.

"I'll be right back with the medic kit." His voice rung through the bare room. Elsa only nodded in response, biting her lip to keep from moaning in pain. Jack watched as she did this, and once again, the feeling resurfaced in his stomach. He tried to shove it back, but found himself unable to do so. He needed to talk, to say something to end the awkward silence.

"That was stupid of you to do." His voice bit out in frustration. Elsa's head whipped around, her face quickly deepening into a frown.

"Excuse me?" She crossed the room, eyes locked on his. Rage ripped at her fingertips.

"It was stupid for you to let him touch you, at all. I could've done it."

"You've got to be joking with me right now." She laughed angrily, "I rush forward, take a stand, get hurt for it, and you're _scolding_ me?"

"Of course I'm scolding you Elsa!" He hissed, "You were hurt, and I think it was stupid of you to not think that through in the first place!"

"Oh, so you suddenly care if I'm hurt now? What happened to shoving me down a _hill_?!" She practically shouted, eyes flashing with anger as she approached Jack, hands balling into fists.

"This is entirely different!"

"You baffle me, Jack Frost. You're a complete and utter idiot, who's selfish and acts only on impulse!" She shook her head, pupils narrowed into pinpricks as a feeling broiled in her stomach, one she hadn't expected to be there at all.

"You say that to me?" He snapped, pulling himself to his full height and getting even closer to Elsa. "After you _froze_ your entire kingdom-"

"Oh we get it!" She cut him off, "I also fixed it, you know." It was then, a thought began to tug at the back of her mind. She and Jack were standing close, so close, their chests were almost touching. His breathing was ragged, his pupils a bit larger than usual. His gaze was locked on hers, his eyes flashing with pure anger and the undeniable gaze of something stronger - passion. And Elsa could feel, to her very core, and with the churning and tightening in her lower stomach, that her eyes were producing the exact same emotions.

"I hate you." She hissed between her short breaths as butterflies began to pull at her insides.

"I hate you more." He whispered back.

She began to feel as if an invisible hand were pulling her in. She leaned a bit closer, and let out a quick gasp when Jack's hand shot out and grasped her back, yanking her in so they stood as one, their faces only centimeters apart. His breaths came in sharp bursts, their hearts beating in time. She felt as if the world was melting away, the bright light and the roaring wind outside dulling along with the pain in her arm. His pupils were monstrous, searching hers, seeming to drink her entire face in like an alcoholic two months sober.

"Els-a...?" Came an unsure voice from the doorway. Instantly she jerked back from Jack, the world returning so quickly that it felt like she had been slapped in the face. Her eyes quickly raked the now frost-covered room and cracked windows, and locked with Rune's slightly confused gaze. Her arm seared with pain, and she let out a soft whimper as her good hand fluttered to it. Heat clawed up the back of her neck and tore at her cheeks.

"I, uh, brought bandages." The man shuffled in, shoving bandages and ointments down onto the table next to a cot. He cursed to himself, uttering a rapid, "I'll be right back" as he rushed out of the room.

Elsa refused to look at Jack, as she backed up against a wall, settling against it and keeping her eyes downcast. She felt dirty, unfaithful, and downright exhilarated. Her heart pounded, and she could swear she had never truly felt more alive until that moment. She heard the soft tap of Jack's shoes on the stone floor, as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Next time, I won't hold back." His rumbling voice, thick and throaty, shook her to her core as her head shot up to reveal his retreating figure. He turned around and shot her a smirk, throwing a wink in. She felt as if her heart was going to burst out of her throat, as she cradled her face in her hands and tried to take a steadying breath.

* * *

**AYYYY DO YOU LOVE THAT OR NOT?! Okay, sorry, but I'm very well aware that you all were definitely waiting for something to happen to satisfy all your little horny crotches, so something did, AND YOU ARE VERY WELCOME. I've been planning upcoming intimate encounters between these two, and good God, do I feel like I need a bath, because I'm so dirty ;) So, because I've been so lovingly kind, feel free to review, because I'm gonna start replying to reviews and fun stuff like that. Alsoo, I'm sure you guys wanna hear that "Species of Petra" mythology tale, or one of Jack's adventures from when he left, or Adon's backstory or something amazing like that. I'll also be taking suggestions for my 200 review treat, so do put that in your review as welll! I hope you all enjoyed, and thank you sososoososo much for reading! Until next chapter, my _horny little bitches_ I MEAN LOVELIES!**


	16. Conflicted

**HyperFLUFFY and several others - I understand your frustration with Maximus. However, if I got rid of him, a lot of my plot points would be screwed over, so I still need him for a bit. Hang in there!**

**Ugh, hey lovelies. It has been a hard two weeks, and things are just getting a bit difficult. I'm sorry this chapter sucks - I haven't been sleeping well lately. I get night terrors, so that absolutely sucks shit, and I'm having some issues with my friends right now for stupid, stupid, STUPID reasons and it just has not been a good two weeks. At all. Okay, I'm gonna shut up now, you guys aren't my therapists - We're approaching 200 reviews rapidly, so I've decided to put up a poll on my profile now. Please feel free to take it and let me know what you'd like the treat to be. Thank you for reading, lovelies! You guys are what keep me from just giving up sometimes :)**

***Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or Rise of the Guardians. I only own Dylan, Gregory, Maximus, Adon, Orion, Rune, Cecilie, Eira and Aquilo.**

* * *

"So, about the book..." Aquilo began, as he settled into his cushioned chair. Light from the full moon shone into the room from the windows that covered each wall.

"What book?" Elsa said casually.

"You read it - don't lie to me." Cecilie's voice tore through the empty conference room.

"Oh, of course I read it!" Elsa hissed in exasperation, her blue eyes flicking to the stars that now freckled the ink blue sky. Today had definitely not been her day - after the almost kiss with Jack in the medic room, things seemed to blur and she lost focus. Time sped up and slowed down, and the letter she had received definitely didn't help with her roaring emotions. On top of that, another ball was being planned to occur in three days time to celebrate Glacia's arrival, and she was in a tizzy. She had been a frustrated mess all day - even Olaf noticed, to the point where he had actually left her alone for a while. Anna and her had already gotten into an argument that resulted in a snow coated dining hall. She took a deep breath.

"Pardon the outburst." She sighed. "Yes, I read the book, and yes I understand that your people are, most likely, descendants of the Glacia." Elsa turned back to Cecilie, who was eyeing her with an amused expression. Aquilo's expression mirrored his wife's, as they shared a glance.

"Descendants? Elsa, we _are_ the Glacia." As if to prove her point, Cecilie lifted a delicate finger to point to the window. Elsa's head whipped around to the pitch-back skies and torrential snow-fall. She scowled.

"Cecilie, if you could please stop the snow... My people already think I'm temperamental - they don't need any more evidence. And I didn't mean that you weren't the Glacia - I just didn't realize that your powers were so strong." Elsa had turned away from the now-clear skies and folded her hands onto the table. "I have a question for you."

"Of course." Cecilie's face turned attentive, and she sent a warm, encouraging smile in Elsa's direction.

"Is Egan an Ignus?"

"I'm sorry, but who is Egan?" Cecilie asked.

"Oh, my apologies. Right, mmm..." Elsa formulated a new question in her head. "We were recently invaded by a hostile party -"

"Yes." Cecilie lifted up her hand to answer Elsa's question. "They were Ignus."

"Where do I come into all of this?" Elsa said softly, playing with her cuticles. She was dreading the words she knew were about to pass from Cecilie's lips.

"Oh, sweet child." Aquilo sighed, his head shaking, "Your parents never told you?"

Elsa's head snapped up - Those definitely weren't the words she was expecting.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Dear, maybe we should push this on her a bit slower-" Cecilie began, concern clouding in her blue eyes.

"Nonsense, she has a right to know." Aquilo shook his head at Cecilie. "Elsa, you need to know that -"

"MAMA! PAPA!" Came a screaming Eira as she burst through the conference room door like a bat out of hell. Her eyes flashed wildly, tears brimming as small pats of frost spread from her bare feet. She wore a little pink sleep-gown. "The girl and Orion, they're gone!"

Aquilo and Cecilie were on their feet in a moment's notice. Cecilie's face had taken on a maternal look as it quickly paled. Elsa was reminded of an all-to-familiar scenario that involved her sister and her now-husband. Aquilo forgotten, she stood, made her way to Eira's side, and swooped down.

"What girl, Eira?" Asked Elsa, as she smoothed the girl's hair down, a suspicion forming in her stomach.

"A-ava." She mumbled, then shook her head. "No, no, no! Its A...very?"

"Adon?" Elsa offered, already standing and looking out into the open hallway. Eira nodded. Aquilo and Cecilie slumped into a relaxed position.

"Eira, darling," Cecilie strode forward, swiftly lifting the small girl up into her arms. She was very tiny for her age, Elsa noticed. "You can't scare us like that. We trust Adon and Orion to be together as..." She trailed off, shooting Elsa a 'Please make sure my son hasn't just impregnated a girl' look.

"Mama, can I not scare you because of North?" Eira mumbled into her mother's shoulder. Aquilo tensed, and Cecilie stood up a bit straighter.

"Yes, Eira." She said nothing else, and quickly carried her daughter out of the room. Elsa shot Aquilo a questioning look.

"North?"

"Our, eh, eldest daughter. She's been missing for almost three years now. At this point, we can only assume..." He indicated his black shoulder tassels, and Elsa remembered what the book had said about black being the Glacia's mourning color of choice. His eyes were on the floor, and had taken on a nostalgic sheen. She nodded, indicating for him to say no more.

"I'll go look for Orion - I'm sure they couldn't have gotten far." Aquilo smiled graciously in Elsa's direction, while the mourning look from his eyes had still not slipped out as she bid him goodnight and strode out of the room. The important information she just "had to know" would have to wait for tomorrow, it seemed.

...

"So," Adon grinned, as she and Orion had strewn themselves on top of the palace roof. The warm air tickled her arms, and she noticed how close his fingers were to hers. Small butterflies pawed at her insides. "You really used to run around naked doing nothing but squatting and eating pastries in corners?"

"No!" He scoffed, his face blushing in the moonlight. "Who told you that?"

"Eira. She said you used to do it until you were five."

"Well, she wouldn't know, seeing as she hadn't been born yet, but the information is incorrect." He paused momentarily. "I ate the pastries underneath tables as well."

Adon burst into a fit of giggles. They had been up here for what felt like hours, talking and watching as the moon rose in the sky. It was the most fun she'd had for a while. She could honestly say she had never quite met a person like Orion before - he was smart, and funny. His looks were beyond handsome, and his personality was one of the best she'd ever come across. She was definitely falling.

"How about you? Any embarrassing habits as a child?" He sent her a grin, which caused her heart to flutter. Not that it mattered - her eyes instantly dropped and her mood plummeted.

"I don't remember." She answered simply.

"Oh." He grew quiet, the silence settling over them like an uncomfortable, stuffy blanket.

'Oh, way to kill the mood, genius!' Adon's inner-voice screamed. She needed to do something to save this moment. She sat up quickly.

"Orion?"

"Hm?"

"How old are you?" She turned her face towards his, and watched as he lifted himself up onto his arms.

"16 and six months," He responded, raising a blonde eyebrow. "You?"

"Sixteen. Have you ever kissed anyone before?"

Orion blinked - that was rather blunt.

"Um, yes, but it was merely for a dare. Wh-?"

Before he could finish, he was shocked to feel another pair of lips on his. Adon's lips flickered up into a smile as they twisted closer together, Orion's hands snaking around Adon's back as fireworks exploded behind their eyelids. Warmth filled Adon's stomach, as she pressed into the kiss, Orion responding by taking her lower lip and biting it softly. Adon grinned, pulling back as the two held onto each other.

"That was..." Orion trailed off.

"Fast?" She asked, pulling back.

"Well, yes." Came a rumbling voice from the top of the roof shingles. Adon and Orion scrambled upwards in shock, looking both embarrassed and too guilty.

"Hey, hey, calm down. I'm not gonna snitch." Jack laughed, as he stood to leave the two. "Just, try to get to bed soon. Your parents are worried, Orion."

The boy grinned sheepishly as he and Adon sat back down, their hands intertwining as they talked softly. Jack smirked, sliding down the opposite side of the roof and onto the balcony that hung below it. He could hear music wafting up, most likely from an open window in the palace, from the band rehearsing for the upcoming ball. He slumped to the ground, leaning his head back against the stone that surrounded the castle. He was conflicted.

On one end, he realized that Elsa had feelings for him. He was more than elated - ecstatic would be a better term. For once in his life, the constant cold that haunted his heart was finally, _finally_ begging to warm. And it felt amazing. Everything seemed good with the world - the sun shone a bit brighter, the air smelled a bit sweeter. The sky was clearer, and he finally realized why so many people were looking for love - this feeling could be easily addicting. And every time he saw Elsa, he heart soared a little higher, and the wind began to stir outside the castle.

On the other, being even relatively involved with Elsa could lead to complications. There was the mere fact that Elsa had Maximus, who didn't look like he was going anywhere soon. Jack, of course, had the upper hand on him, seeing as he knew everything about where Maximus really was right now, but he couldn't hurt Elsa again - not after what had happened. Oh, and that definitely tipped the scales too. The last thing he wanted to happen was for Elsa to be in danger, but getting her involved with him was a bigger risk than anything. She could get hurt, and then, after she had so generously given him a second chance, he could easily lose her, forever.

...

Elsa sat, her head in between her knees as she tried to take steadying breaths. He was coming back. And she had just almost kissed Jack.

Maximus was coming back, very soon, within two days, and she and Jack had just shared an undeniable moment of utter and complete chemistry and connection. Her heart felt like it was being torn in two - one side for the lovable, caring, 'knight-in-shining-armour', Maximus, and the other for Jack - who was mysterious, cocky, infuriating, and all-around alluring. She knew the logical choice, of course, was Maximus. Jack had abandoned her, broken her, and Maximus had swept up the pieces. She couldn't throw that away. Then again, Jack had come back for her, and he had said he was sorry. But the 'sorry' was nothing more than two words hastily scribbled on a piece of paper. Maximus made her feel safe - but she hadn't yet given Jack a chance to prove himself of being able to accomplish that.

This was ridiculous. Completely and utterly ridiculous. She wasn't going to sit here, contemplating and balancing her choices like in her mythology books. That always ended badly, with someone either dying or being impregnated by Zeus. And as far as she was concerned, she had no plans to do either of those things. So she needed to do something different - something that wouldn't break the boys hearts, but still help her decide who she should run with.

Her head shot up, as an idea burst into her brain. She knew exactly what she needed to do.

More specifically, who she needed to see.

* * *

**OH OH OH OH THAT HORRIBLE CLIFFHANGER THOUGH. Who will Elsa visit? Oooooh I love keeping secrets from you guys, it's my favorite past time. Anywhoo, I'm sorry, please don't kill me, but don't expect the next chapter to be out as quickly as these last two have been - The next chapter is going to be a bit longer, seeing as we have both a ball and a visit to some unexpected guests, plus, we have both Jack and Elsa's conflicting opinions and viewpoints. And stupid Maximus getting in the way of all of it. Did I upset you by making sure Jack and Elsa don't kiss in this Chapter? I really hope I did - that way you'll just have to wait so you little hornbags can finally get the kiss you all crave. And more.**

***MAKE SURE YOU TAKE THE POLL (located on my profile) OR ELSE THERE WILL BE _NO_ TREAT***

**As always, thank you sosososoossosososso much for reading, and please feel free to leave a review, or two, or several reviewing each chapter. Until next chapter, my lovelies!**


	17. First Fall

**Elsa's dress and all of her accessories can be found in links on my profile :)**

***Disclamer**

**I DO NOT OWN RISE OF THE GUARDIANS OR FROZEN. **

_**I only own Adon, Orion, Lira, Cecilie, Aquilo, Eira, Rune, Dylan, Harry, Maximus and Gregory.**_

* * *

"Ooooh, honey, look how big you got!" One of the trolls sang, as they grasped Elsa's hand. Kristoff and Anna had finally taken Elsa out to meet Kristoff's family, and so Elsa could hopefully get some answers.

"What brings you down to us now? Man troubles?" Another laughed, as they pulled Elsa down to sit in a cross legged position. She positioned her skirts awkwardly as she shot a glance towards Anna, who was standing next to Kristoff and giggling uncontrollably.

"Well yes, actually." Elsa began.

"Well don't keep us in suspense, dear!" One cackled as they all swarmed her and sat at her feet. Anna and Kristoff were strolling away, hand in hand, as they talked to an older troll. Elsa began to feel a bit anxious. As far as they both knew, Elsa was only going to go speak about Maximus.

"I'm torn between two men. What do I do?" Elsa asked, as she raised her eyes to meet the rock hard ones that shone back towards her.

"Well..." One of them began, looking unsure, "It's a bit, um, not specific..."

"Eh..." Elsa said, wondering if this was a mistake. "Well, Jack and I fight a lot." She began uncertainly. "But, we have this... I don't know, tension between us. And everytime we fight, or get close, it just grows tighter. We get along very well, while we're not fighting that is. He's smart, adventurous, and absolutely infuriatingly annoying and gorgeous. But he left me... and then there's Maximus, who was my knight in shining armor." Instantly, the trolls' faces began to twist and some were shaking their heads.

"Elsa, no no no dear." One sighed, patting her hand as if she was a small child. "A knight in shining armor is a man who has never had his metal truly tested."

That made Elsa stop. Had Maximus, truly, ever fought for her? No, no, no, she had to remain neutral.

"At any rate," she continued, "Maximus is kind and caring. He's funny and considerate, and, well, he's never hurt me."

"Hey Els!" Called a voice from up on the hill, and Elsa was mortified to see Jack standing at the top, a silhouette against the morning sunlight. Did he just call her 'Els'? Since when did they use nicknames?

"Who's that?" chorused the trolls as they all craned to get a look. Anna and Kristoff exchanged glances rapidly and quickly made their way back to the gather of trolls.

"King Jack Frost." He smiled, making his way down the hill. He looked nice today, a dark blue dress shirt and black pants. The trolls exchanged smiles and knowing looks, while Anna and Kristoff quickened their speed. "May I just say that you all look beautiful today?" He shot them a half smile, showing off his pearly whites, and Elsa watched as one of them literally fainted. This was going to be bad.

"I saw you all leave the castle today, and I felt a bit left out, so I decided to tag along. Having a pre-ball party without me?" He sent Elsa a smirk.

"Dear, I certainly think you should pick Jack." One of the trolls said loudly, while the others voiced their agreements. Jack raised an eyebrow as his gaze snapped to Elsa's.

"Well," Jack smirked, as he swaggered over to Elsa, standing in front of her. He ran his fingers through his hair, and rumbled, his eyes sparkling playfully, "I'm clearly the obvious choice." Another thud as a troll dropped to the ground. Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Screw off, Frost." She hissed, as she began to storm away. A soft humming began behind her. Kristoff began to laugh.

"Are you singing 'Beware the Frozen Heart?'" He chuckled. A round of hoots and hollers began as the trolls burst into laughter.

"My heart is not frozen." Elsa sighed, crossing her arms in frustration.

"Yeah," said Jack, "It's only lightly chilled." The trolls laughed even harder, fawning over Jack. Elsa scowled, and shot a snowball straight at his face, before turning and striding off, her face burning.

...

"Elsa!" Sang a smooth, chocolatey voice as it waltzed into her room. Dylan's mouth dropped into an o-shape when he saw Elsa as her form flickered and shimmered in the candlelight. "Sur-prise...?"

"Like my creation?" Anna winked. Elsa stood, her side facing Dylan, clad in a silky red dress that swirled and churned. The straps at the back crossed and in the middle sat a quick pattern of what appeared to be black diamonds. The rest was backless, however, and the bottom of the large space in her back had a small sprinkling of black diamonds as well. The red was the purest color of red he had ever seen - the dress material clung to her skin and ran over it like falling water. Her hair was in curls and pulled back into a bun, while her bright blue eyes shown under her smoky eyeshadow. Blushed cheeks hung above ruby red lips. A black diamond necklace shaped like a teardrop was strung to her neck while matching earrings hung from her ears. When she moved, he could see the black strappy stilettos that clung to her feet.

"Elsa, I think I'm into girls now." He smirked as he took her into his arms.

"Oh stop it!" She laughed, smacking his arm playfully.

"No really, you look great." He turned and smiled at Anna, who wore a forest green gown that hung to the floor and swished with every movement she made. It honestly made her look a bit bigger. "You look fantastic too, Anna."

"Thank you." She smiled. Downstairs, the rumble and groan of guests had finally overpowered the music.

"Shall we?" Dylan laughed, offering the girls his arms.

"We shall." They replied in unison, and strode out of the room.

...

Elsa sipped on her champagne, as she watched the guests mingle and talk excitedly. She never really had gotten used to balls - being locked up in a room for most of her life helped with that. Anna, however, flourished and bounded about, chatting with everyone who would listen. Kristoff trudged behind her, and Elsa couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for the poor man.

Elsa turned, feeling a tap on her shoulder. A rather bulky, homely man stood behind her, his rotund potbelly practically falling out of his dress shirt. His portly fingers clung to an empty glass, that, judging by the state of his breath, used to be filled with whiskey.

"What's a girl like you," he slurred, his mouse-brown eyes dragging up and down her figure, "doing in a place like this?"

Elsa crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow. "This is my palace." She took another small sip of her champagne.

"Well then..." He grinned, "I'm Lord Leonard Advarsio" He winked at her, throwing in an awkward growling noise. She took a step back. "But you can call me Daddy-"

"Is there a problem here, snowflake?" Came a rumbling voice from beside her. Elsa almost peed herself when a cold arm came and wrapped around her red waist. She suppressed a shiver at the fact that Jack Frost had almost called her darling.

Instantly, "Daddy's" sagging face wrinkled and twisted into a scowl.

"No, dear." Elsa sighed, leaning to Jack's arm, fully assuming the role. "Jack, I want you to meet Lord Leonard Advarsio." She grinned mentally, and then continued. "Or, as he said we should call him Da-"

"Uhm, Leonard's fine." He grunted in a gruff voice. Jack sighed, as he leaned down and planted a kiss onto Elsa's hair. She stiffened slightly.

"Darling, do you remember the time when that drunk tried to harass you when we first met?" He rumbled, looking up at the ceiling as if reminiscing.

"Of course!" Elsa smiled with the false memory. "You froze his insides then gutted him like a fish!"

Leonard let out a squeal like a pig, then scurried off - as much as a drunk man could scurry. Once he was gone, Jack removed his arm from her, but the cold chill on her back lingered.

"Really?" She scoffed, turning to face him. "Snowflake?" She took another gulp of champagne, liking the barely-there burn as it dragged it's way down her throat.

"Well, all couples need pet names." He shrugged with a smirk, as he took her glass from her hands. Before she could even become upset, he downed it with a smirk and placed it on one of the passing caterer's trays.

"I still wanted that, you know." She frowned.

"Can you tango, your majesty?" Jack asked suddenly, as the music began to turn to a quicker beat.

"I'm better than anyone in the the entire kingdom." Elsa laughed, empty champagne glass forgotten, watching as Kristoff tried to promenade with Anna. She let out a small gasp as Jack grabbed her wrist and dragged her onto the floor, turning her to face him.

Jack gripped Elsa's waist as the foot-tapping sound of the music flowed through the room. He sent her a devilish smirk, which she mirrored. Two could play at his game. As the tempo picked up, Jack jumped into action, sweeping Elsa across the dance floor. His eyes flashed in the light from the palace, revealing excitement and that all-to-familiar look of passion. Her mouth went a little dry. She kept with his time as he quickly whipped her out, then rolled her back in.

"You look amazing." He rumbled in her ear. Her heart rate picked up ever so slightly. They were closer than ever, chest to chest, their movements both graceful and intense. The entire ballroom was entranced with their chemistry. Her flowing red gown whipped and swirled with him, occasionally wrapping around his legs. Every so often the dress lifted, revealing her high black stilettos. His mind wasn't focused on the dancing, however - he had danced the tango thousands of times before - it was on her.

Elsa's blue eyes were shining in the warm light from the candles. Her blood red lips were curled into a smirk, and drawing Jack closer and closer with every twirl. Her hair, loose and flowing, spun and shone in the light, and was slightly mussed from the spinning. She was the most beautiful, enticing thing Jack had ever laid his eyes on. He was hooked, and she was reeling him in fast.

Elsa's attention locked onto the man's face, which was set in a state of absolute intrigue and fascination as he gazed into her eyes. The world around them seemed to fuzz out. The music dulled, and their footsteps seemed to slow, even stop at one point. Jack's grip on her back tightened, and she could feel his cool hand sending shots of heat all the way to her toes. Their eyes were stuck together, their faces inching towards each others. Suddenly, her foot caught, and she was falling to the polished mahogany. Jack reacted quickly, catching her just inches from the floor. The ballroom let out a collective gasp before bursting into thunderous applause. The world rushed back, the music gone and the chatter of the party guests echoing around the room. Elsa flushed, while Jack lifted her. Her heart thundered - how fast had they been dancing?

A quick glance at Jack answered her question. A thin, almost undetectable sheen of frost was on his shoulder, and their hands seemed to be frozen together. She pulled hers from his and saw that the frost slathered their fingers as well, almost like gloves. A thin layer of it also seemed to rest on her bare back where Jack's hand had been placed.

"Nice fall." He grinned, finally stepping back from her. She smiled, a bit tired, back at him.

"Well, if you didn't trip me up..." She began, turning away from him to grab a glass of champagne. He laughed at her retreating figure.

"Elsa!" Anna said, as she rushed towards her.

"Hm?" She replied, still a bit floaty from her and Jack's intense tango.

"Maximus is here - he was planning to surprise you, but I just wanted you to be ready!" Anna smiled softly.

"Oh." Elsa said, feeling her heart drop a few levels. "Right then." Reality crashed back down onto her, and Elsa felt like she wanted to cry. She should've felt glad to hear about Maximus's return, but inside she felt nothing but emptiness.

Suddenly, a giggling Adon crashed into her as she and Orion swirled and twirled on the dance floor.

"Oh, Elsa!" She gasped, turning around and her face reddening in horror. "I'm so sorry, Elsa, I really am!" Elsa laughed it off, saying it was fine.

"I can't dance at all." Orion laughed. Elsa smiled.

"Neither can Jack, but don't tell him that. I was the one leading him around. He just tripped me up." Elsa winked, taking several large gulps of champagne. Tonight, she needed all the alcohol she could get if she wanted to deal with Maximus. She had finished off the glass.

"Boo!" Came a loud voice from behind her, as familiar strong arms swept her up into their embrace. Elsa dropped the flute with a shriek and laughter. It hit the carpet before cracking in two.

"Oops." Maximus laughed, spinning her around. "Hello, beautiful." He pressed a kiss onto her lips.

Across the room, Jack seethed. He knew Elsa needed to know the truth about Maximus. But how would he let her know? He watched as Maximus tapped her nose with his finger, and she swatted his hang away with mock anger. Or was it real annoyance? He couldn't tell.

...

"You're serious?" Adon gasped, as she, Orion, and Anna all leaned in around the small table and listened to Jack's tale. Anna's face was twisted with rage, her hands grasping the table so hard that her knuckles had turned white.

"Yes, completely. Now do you understand why I need your help?" He said, exasperated. "If I tell Elsa, she wouldn't believe me. She would think -"

"We get it," Anna cut him off, "And we'll be happy to help. And I know just how we can. Elsa doesn't deserve this. And look-" She pointed in the direction of a familiar redhead "She's here tonight."

Jack smirked in the woman's direction. Adon stood up, fluffing her hair.

"I'd like the honors, if you wouldn't mind." She hissed, her eyes shooting daggers at the woman. Anna rolled up her sleeves.

"Let me in on the fun." She snarled, as the two made their way towards Lira. The woman was leaning up against a table, her long, green dress fitting her like a second skin. Red hair cascaded like a waterfall of rubies down her exposed back. Anna approached the woman, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Yes?" Lira turned, and Anna got a glimpse of her eyes - red ringed irises, surrounded by green. She swallowed hard.

"Lira? Lovely to meet you." Anna curtsied curtly. "Princess Anna, of Arendelle. And this is Belladonna." She gestured towards the girl, who was still mentally murdering Lira.

"Oh, you're Elsa's sister?" She smirked, a thin red eyebrow shooting up.

"Yes. Please, tell me, are you enjoying the party?" Anna inquired smoothly.

"Well, it's alright. The music has been a bit dull, and with the lack of food..." She trailed off, shrugging pompously. "Well, I've been here quite some time, and I'm getting rather peckish."

"And what of your traveling arrangements?

"My traveling arrangements...?" Lira said, looking uncertain. Adon was confused - what traveling arrangements?

"Well, of course!" Anna laughed. "You know, the ones that every guest receives, complimentary, so they may attend festivities such as these?" Anna's face remained an unreadable, freckled mask.

"Oh, right, yes!" Lira laughed, her face smoothing out. "Yes, I found the arrangements to be mediocre. Nonetheless, I appreciate the effort."

"Right then," Anna said, her face screwing up in mock concern. "Why only mediocre? Did you perhaps travel by our carriage services?"

"Yes." she replied, "The horses seemed rather skittish, they got spooked very often. It took us quite some time to get here. Do tell your stable-boys and coachmen to control the beasts, would you?" Lira said, her posh voice making Adon want to pull Lira's teeth out one by one.

"Well, that's simply just odd." Anna said, putting a finger to her chin in puzzlement.

"Why is that?" Lira snapped, looking annoyed that Anna was still there.

"Well, seeing as I saw you arrive just moments ago with Maximus," Anna said. "You would have to have noticed the fact that empty dishes were being wheeled from the room, of which, if you had truly been here for "quite some time", as you said previously, you most likely would have eaten off of. There's also the fact that..." Anna looked at Lira, who had stiffened with a bit of rage and embarassment. "Well, Arendelle doesn't have complimentary travel services."

Adon was in a state of slight shock - Anna had just caught Lira in her lie. Anna's tone of mock bewilderment had struck a nerve. Lira's face was a hardened block of stone as she took a long, slow sip of her glass of champagne, and breathed deeply through her nostrils.

"So." Anna hissed through clenched teeth, not noticing the approaching woman behind Lira, who hovered just within earshot, "If you don't want to be dragged out of this event with missing chunks of hair and a broken nose, I suggest you tell me what you were doing with Maximus exactly."

"Oh, isn't it obvious?" Lira tsked, shaking her head and downing another gulp of champagne. "I really thought you were smarter than, well, this. Maximus and I are _clearly_ in a relationship. He doesn't care about Elsa - he never did. A broken heart is definitely the easiest to persuade - and that's just what he did." Lira laughed coldly.

Elsa froze. Her stomach sank to her toes, and her heartbeat seemed to slow. She felt a rush of blood try to force it's way to her head, but it seemed stuck. A small voice screamed in the back of her head. She felt cold, and white began to creep into the edges of her vision. More than anything in the world, she wanted to sink to the floor and weep, but she couldn't move. Why was she letting this girl take control of her, when she had clearly lied before? This thought helped the numbness fade momentarily, and let her turn her head to catch Maximus's gaze, which was locked on the girls. His guilty expression was all she needed to see.

She could have sworn she heard a voice call out to her, but she wasn't focused on that. Her fingers were tense with cold, as her heart rate seemed to slow further and further, the white overpowering her vision. She couldn't see, couldn't move - all she could focus on was what felt like her heart being torched by Egan, being ripped at with his sharp teeth. Her brain was nothing but slush, her eyes emotionless. She felt the atmosphere drop a good ten degrees. The guests were turning towards her at this point, noticing the odd white light that was beginning to leak from her pupils and fingertips.

'Control it.' Something whispered. The cold was harsh, biting, ripping at her willpower to even stand. How could she control this when she hadn't blinked in a good two minutes? She sucked in a breath between her teeth. The air ripped at her lungs as they expanded and crackled, thawing slightly. She twitched her fingers, wiggled her toes, and movement began to restore itself. Her mind, however, was nothing but numbness. She felt like she was going to explode.

"Elsa." A voice broke through her haze, and she focused on Anna, who had taken her face in her warm, soft hands. Her expression was a mixture of pity and sympathy. "Elsa, are you in there? Elsa, I'm so sorry." Elsa wanted nothing more than to slip back into the numbness of her haze, but she knew that was hardly appropriate.

"About what?" She managed to choke out. Her face had taken on what felt like a fake smile. "I need some air, I feel a bit ill." She turned very slowly, keeping her eyes and fake smile trained on the doors that led to the garden. The ballroom had lost interest in Elsa, turning away to focus on their own conversations.

"Elsa," Came Adon's voice, "Talk to us. We know you're hurting."

Elsa whipped around, frost shooting up the windows and ice locking Adon's feet to the mahongany floor. "I'm fine." The words resonated through the space between the girls. Elsa turned on her black heel, and began to put one foot in front of the other. She had finally reached the doors when a strong hand wrapped around her shoulder.

"Elsie..." Maximus began.

Elsa took Maximus's left hand in her own as she turned. He was shocked to silence by this, watching as she examined his fingers. For a moment, she was silent. Cold began to creep into his fingertips.

"Maximus?" Elsa asked, keeping her eyes trained on his arm as the cold began to work it's way up his limb.

"Yes?" He asked, feeling the numbing cold rip at his insides.

"Have you ever broken a piece of ice?" She asked softly, her eyes now up to his shoulder, moving ever so slowly across his chest. The cold followed with it.

"W-well, yes." He replied, his hand turning an unnatural shade of purple.

"It's rather easy, isn't it?" She mused, moving her gaze tantalizingly slowly across his pectorals. The cold had just touched his lung. He nodded, biting his lip.

"Think of how easy it will be..." She murmured, as she pressed her free hand to his chest, "For me to shatter and break the measly little thing you call a heart." Panic filled his stomach as he felt his heartbeat begin to slow and struggle, cold winding it's way through his chest. His breathing became shallow as his lungs attempted to stretch to contain air.

"I could simply just push you over..." She smiled, "And shatter you like glass." Fear clouded his eyes.

"But I won't. I wouldn't even give you that much." She hissed through clenched teeth as her nails dug into his chest. He gasped in pain, feeling the cold churn and pulse inside of him.

"By the time I'll be finished with you..." She trailed off, her blue eyes locked onto his. "You'll be wishing I had shattered you like you just did to me." Suddenly, cold thrust through him. Her eyes glowed with ferocious, awesome power, as he began to sink to his knees, his breathing coming in bursts. She pulled her hand back sharply, and he slumped to the floor, breathing haggardly. He was twitching and shaking, shivering. Elsa had felt nothing, absolutely nothing throughout the entire ordeal. She quietly pushed her way out into the warm summer night, leaving her now ex-boyfriend frozen on the floor.

Jack had watched the entire event from afar, flanked by Anna, Orion, Kristoff and Adon. The ballroom guests hadn't even noticed the freezing.

"She's going to destroy the garden." Anna sighed, shaking her head as she began to make her way towards Maximus, Kristoff following close behind. She turned back towards Jack. "Make sure she doesn't kill herself, would you?"

...

Jack followed the frosty footprints to a snow-covered clearing. Elsa sat in the center, on a bench of sorts shaped from ice. Snow whirled daintily above her, fluttering to the ground. The explosion, judging from the ice slathered trees, had already happened. He stood still for a moment, taking the broken girl in.

She was hunched over, her dress slightly wet from the snow. Loose strands of hair had fallen from her bun, and famed her shining eyes. She looked wild, untamed, and beautiful in the moonlight. Sorrow hung like a cloud all around her, and seemed to seep into Jack's very being - even from the other side of the clearing where he stood now. He ambled over, and took a seat next to her, looking up at the falling flurries.

"Beautiful night for a flurry, hm?" He smirked, keeping his eyes trained on the black sky. Elsa scoffed darkly, pushing her hair back from her face as she sat up straight.

"Ha-ha." She said drily, looking out into the woods surrounded the back of the palace. "I'm not exactly in the mood for jokes right now, Frost."

They were silent for a few moments.

"I'm so sorry, Elsa."

Elsa remained silent, focusing on the frozen trees in front of her. Once again, the silence passed comfortably.

"Jack, can you answer a question?" She said suddenly, her voice hard, but quiet.

"Depends - what's the question?" He rumbled.

"Is there such a thing as a cursed love-life?" She whispered.

"Elsa," He sighed, shaking his head, "Don't start with that-"

"No." She said, her voice raising as she stood. "First, I'm locked away for twenty-one years. Not much loving to be done then. Then, Gregory rolls around and turns out to be a sexually-abusive fire demon." She spat loudly, "And then, the one guy who comes sweeping in to pick up the pieces is sleeping with a female fire demon!" She shouted, slamming her first into the bench and causing it to shatter. Jack stood quickly before her could fall on his butt, watching the snow thicken.

"Elsa, I'm sorry. I should've told you -" He stopped himself, but it was too late. Elsa's eyes locked on his.

"You _knew_?" she whispered in disbelief, her pupils narrowing to pinpricks. "You knew that my boyfriend was _cheating on me_ and you didn't _tell me_?!" She screamed as the snow began to whirl.

"I didn't want to hurt you!" He began in protest, stepping closer to her put she held up a pale hand to silence him.

"Oh no, no, _no_! Don't give me that bullshit!" She roared, approaching him. "Didn't want to hurt me? Then why did you abandon me for not one, but _two months_ after I had clearly had a traumatic experience?" She asked loudly, her voice cracking. "I had nightmares for weeks Jack. Every single night, I dreamed about Gregory coming back and hurting me, burning me, slitting my goddamned throat! You lead me on, break my heart, and tell me you weren't trying to _hurt_ me?!"

The snow was whirling so hard Elsa could barely see Jack, who was only inches from her. She fumed and steamed, and for a moment, there was no movement between the two of them - only the rush of snow through the narrow gap. Rage coursed through her, pumping with her racing heart.

And then Jack's lips were on hers. She stiffened, the snow freezing mid-air, before it burst into action. It tore at their clothes, the wind pushing Elsa even further into Jack's arms as they snaked around her waist. The memories of that day back in the woods rushed back to her, and she breathed in the familiar scent of mint and spices, taking in his peppermint taste. She felt as if her heart would burst through her chest it was racing so hard, all the pain of the past two months zeroing in on that moment. Something jerked and twisted in her lower stomach, and she pressed into him, almost hungrily. The light of the moon got so bright, it felt as if sunlight was burning through her eyelids. Fireworks flashed everywhere in the darkness of her closed eyes, as the sound of bells tolled and rolled in her ears. Their lips weren't breaking apart - they were only pressing harder, working with one another like clockwork. The kiss was so intense, it felt as if the world hung on their shoulders, and the only to keep it there was to keep their lips locked in that very moment.

Jack was higher than the highest cloud in the sky. His heart was soaring like a bird - how could he have left this creature, this amazing thing, so alone and broken? This kiss was right, more right than anything he'd ever done. It was one hundred - no, one _thousand_ times better than the happiest feeling he'd ever felt. It was as if the world just righted itself from moment on. A word couldn't even describe this kiss - it'd need a whole dictionary just to define it's magnificence. His lips parted slightly to let the kiss deepen, and they slammed their bodies close together, Elsa craving the security she'd lost so long ago, Jack pressing to increase this intense high. Wind roared so quickly in his ears that he could hear nothing. His whole world was nothing but that moment, and he was fine with that.

As the kiss went on longer, Elsa felt herself begin to weaken. The intensity of the kiss certainly wasn't gone - it was there, roaring and burning. She was exhausted from the nights events. She felt herself began to slump into Jack, the euphoric sensation the kiss had sent off still ricocheting through her like echoes in a cave. Her knees wobbled slightly as the pressure of his mouth on hers eased up. They kept their lips pressed together, shocks of heat ebbing through the small touch. Tears began to pool at her eyelids and spill down her cheeks. When Jack tasted the salt, he begrudgingly lifted his lips from hers, holding her sobbing, shaking form in his strong arms. She leaned her forehead against his suit, and began to bawl, tears pouring down her cheeks. The snow had ebbed from a blizzard to a sparse flurry. Her heart was torn in two - one side was unbelievably, undeniably happy, while the other was heart-achingly sad and despairing. She clung onto his suit, crying her eyes out.

"Am I that bad of a kisser?" Jack rumbled huskily, his trademark smirk crossing his lips. Elsa smacked him weakly on the arm, as Jack supported her, the snow ebbing from the flurry to nothing at all.

* * *

**YOU. ARE. WELCOME. Was that enough fluff for you? Because for me, that's enough fluff to stuff a pillow. But don't worry - we'll be stuffing LOTS of pillows in upcoming chapters.**

**AS FOR YOUR TREAT - I noticed we hit 200 reviews today at school, and I almost shit myself. Really, I did. This was more then I had ever hoped for in submitting my writing for this site, more than I had ever DREAMED OF. I can't thank each and every one of you enough.**

**Okay, enough goopiness, let's get on with some announcements. The next chapter will be your treat involving Jack's excuse for leaving Elsa for two months. So yeah, expect that fun stuff. As for when it'll be out, I can't garantee an exact date, HOWEVER, I can say it'll probably be in about a week. I've submitted three chapters, only taking 3,4,5 days to write them, and I need a break for only a few days. **

**Thank you all sososososo much for reading! Please feel free to leave a review, because, as we know, every time a review is left a reindeer gets a carrot (namely, Sven.). So review, review, review, and Until next chapter, my lovelies!**


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